


Of Beasts and Men

by TemporaryUniverse



Series: Of Beasts and Men [1]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Fox!Reid, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Non-Consensual Medical Experimentation, Reid Whump, soul animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-24 00:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8349286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemporaryUniverse/pseuds/TemporaryUniverse
Summary: Already down an agent, the BAU team is about to lose another. When a case goes bad, the band of profilers must race to save their friend, but when they get him back, will anything ever be the same again? Fantasy AU set just after the season 11 finale. Contains non-explicit spoilers.





	1. Prologue

Prologue:

Padded, fur-covered feet pounded on the forest floor, a rhythm of crunching leaves and twigs. Lithe muscles rippled as the slender legs shifted and propelled their owner with agility and grace. A bushy tail streamed out behind the creature like a banner, the white tip bobbing. Soft pants escaped the narrow muzzle, the black nose twitching at the end. Pointed ears swiveled on top of the furry skull. Without changing speed, the creature skidded sharply to the left, racing in long bounds and leaps.

The magnificent orange fur of the fox stood out against the green and brown of the nature. He was running swiftly, desperately, trying to escape his pursuers. Amber eyes were filled with terror, the slitted pupils dilated, as the nimble animal weaved around trees, dodged branches, and sprung over low shrubs. Minutes later the fox stumbled to an abrupt halt, breathing heavily. He blinked and glanced behind him in fear. A ravine obstructed his path ahead, rocky and deep, a small but rapid river bubbling at the bottom. The large ears flicked back at the sound of a crash nearby. Without wasting another moment, the fox bunched his legs underneath himself, and leapt forward, paws outstretched...

Spencer Reid woke with a strangled gasp, shooting up to a sitting position in his bed, his body trembling with adrenaline from the dream scenario, legs tangled in the sheets. He ran a sweaty hand through his tangled mess of golden brown hair, giving him a wild, ruffled look. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and sighed. 4:57 am. There was no point to going back to sleep now, he doubted he would be able to anyway. He turned off the alarm that was set to ring at 6:00, and stumbled out of his bed with a yawn, dressed in his boxers and an FBI t-shirt. He blearily snatched his glasses off the nightstand and made his way into the kitchen to start the coffee machine.

Soon, the bitter aroma of coffee beans was wafting through the apartment, the sound of the pot gurgling filling the empty silence of the morning. When the coffee was ready, he poured himself a mug, his favorite Doctor Who one which Garcia had given to him on his 26th birthday, and loaded it with a copious amount of sugar that would have made Morgan cringe. He meandered into the living room and plopped down on the old couch, holding his mug of coffee-flavored sucrose and a thick novel.

He immersed himself in the literary world until it was time for him to get ready for work. He reluctantly put down the book he was enjoying, he had been reading it at a more leisurely pace than he normally would, savoring the feel of the paperback in his hands and the poetic prose and visual appeal of text on a page.

It didn't take him long to get dressed in his usual slacks and sweater, try to tame his unruly hair, and fill a Thermos with more coffee. Then he was stepping out the door, locking it behind him, and setting off towards the subway station.

******

Some say that when a human dies, they are reincarnated as an animal. Others think that it is the other way around, that the death of an animal gives life to a man, as evolution has decreed. The truth is that no one knows the true reason every person has a soul animal, or Ātmā, they are just sure that the sacred beast in their heart exists. Ātmāra take the role of a spiritual guide or companion, and the species of animal inside is reflected in a person's character. The Ātmāra connect every living person with every other living person, and influence their relationships when two souls are compatible, for lack of a better-word.

An Ātmā is kept secret from the outside world, only shared by their being with the individuals they choose, usually those who they are the most intimate with. To know another person's Ātmā is to know their soul, it is a profound link that is guarded and revered by every culture on Earth.

"The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected."  
― Nicholas Sparks


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

It was no surprise to any of the BAU team when they were called in on a case. Their destination was Rochester, Minnesota. Five people, men and women, had been abducted over the course of two months. At the abduction site a card had been left along with the victims' belongings they were carrying at the time, or, in the case of Nelson Bogdanov, sent to the immediate family.

They had a partial profile developed by the time they headed back to the hotel, after many long grueling hours trying to piece together evidence and deal with the less than welcoming detectives and officers, and were hoping that the complete one would be ready to present to the PD by the end of the next day.

As soon as he hit the mattress of his bed, Reid was asleep. He had elected to not have that last cup of coffee with his dinner because despite what his team members thought, he did have a degree of self-control when it came to his caffeine and cases.

He slept dreamlessly that night.

******

Reid glanced around the library, observing the scene with a trained eye. He had to smile at the familiar feel of the shelves stacked with books and various people hunched over desks or sitting in chairs with a novel in their lap. He loved libraries and had since he was a kid. Today, though, he wasn't here for pleasure, but for work.

Garcia hadn't found a connection between the victims because checking out books from a public library was free, it didn't show up on financial statements, barely left a trail unless you were looking specifically for it, and even then it was difficult to tell how often the account was used. While he thought little of it at the time, he had noticed that they all had library books at their house or in their possession when they were abducted. They had all visited this library. Kaylee Lange's best friend had said that she spent a lot of her time here, and so Reid had decided to visit, and see if any of the regulars could be a possible witness.

He approached the information desk and smiled charmingly at the clerk. The teenager grinned back and Reid stopped in front of her.

"Hi, can I help you with something?"

"Uh, yes, my name is Dr. Spencer Reid, I'm with the FBI." He flashed his badge and the clerk's eyebrows jumped in surprise. Reid reached into his ever present messenger bag and removed a stack of photos. He spread them in front of the teen, "I need to ask you, have you seen any of these people here recently? The past two months or so?"

"I think I may have seen that girl last week, I think it was Friday? She checked out a couple books on… I'm trying to remember… Oh! That's right, Ātmāra. Her name was Phoebe, I think, she was really nice. I don't think I've seen anyone else, I only started working here a week and a half ago. I can get our other clerk if you wanna talk to him. Are you really FBI?" She responded chipperly. Reid found himself buoyed by her enthusiasm.

"Sure, that would be great if you could. And yes, I am a federal agent. Um, you said that Phoebe checked out books on Ātmāra? Can you tell me what these other people checked out if I tell you their names?"

"Yeah, give me a sec. If they checked it out in the past three months, it should be on the computer. We just updated our system to digital so we're still transcribing all the paper copy stuff." She explained, fingers firing away at the keyboard.

"Kaylee Lange, Andy Ruiz, Sophia Grier, Phoebe Ott, and Nelson Bogdanov." Reid listed, pausing while she typed in each name.

"Alright. There's a lot of books here, do you want me to read them all off to you?"

"Is it possible to turn the screen around? It would be faster for me." She did so, shrugging off her minor confusion. Reid read through the list rapidly, memorizing the entire thing in seconds, a deepening frown forming on his face.

He worried his lip then looked up at the clerk, "Thank you."

"Uh-huh. Let me go get Jamie for you." She smiled widely. Reid nodded and she pranced off. In the time it took her to return with a man that Reid assumed was Jamie, the profiler considered what he had just learned. He knew he needed to call Hotch because he had found the connection between the victims. They had all checked out books on the topic of Ātmāra fewer than two days before they were abducted.

"Hi, I'm Jamie. Liza said you wanted to talk to me?" Reid was greeted by a young man who spoke with a slight British accent. He looked grad student age, maybe 24 or 25, and was shorter than Reid, but well-built. He had grey eyes and his shaggy brown hair was tied at the nape of his neck in a ponytail and his skin was well tanned.

Reid smiled at him. "I'm SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, FBI. I would like to ask you a few questions about an ongoing investigation?"

"Sure, man." Jamie's demeanor seemed to change slightly, but Reid wasn't sure why. He laid out his photos again.

"Do you recognize any of these people?" The agent asked.

Jamie shuffled his feet, and glanced at the pictures, "No," He replied a little too quickly. Reid narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Are you sure? They were here a lot, they all checked out books on Ātmāra," He said skeptically.

"I don't know, she looks familiar maybe, but there are a lot of people that come through this library, Agent, I don't remember them all."

Reid, realizing he couldn't get anything out of the clerk, nodded, "Thank you for your time."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more. Good luck, Agent," Jamie said, looking relieved.

"Bye, Agent Reid!" The girl, Liza, exclaimed. Reid smiled at them, gathered his photos, and wandered over to the section where the Ātmā books were. He spent a few minutes scanning the shelves and the area, then he decided he wasn't going to find any other insights, and exited the library so he could call the team.

Hotch picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Reid." Hotch's voice sounded crackly over the speaker.

"Hotch, I think I found something. I'm at the Rochester Public Library, all of the victims checked out–" He had almost reached the car when something heavy collided with his head and he fell to the ground, barely conscious, he only had enough time to glance up at the hazy figure of his attacker, before he has struck again and he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Reid? Reid!" Hotch's concerned voice called from the phone before the heel of a boot connected with the screen and it shattered.

On the other end of the connection, Hotch stared at his cell, its bright display indicating that the call had been disconnected. He immediately turned to Lewis, who had heard most of the conversation, and the two agents rushed out of the police station.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

Hotch barely had time to put the car in park and remove the keys before he and Lewis were jumping out. They had tried to call Reid back several times, only to get a robotic message telling them that the line they were trying to reach had been disconnected.

"Hotch," Lewis said, "His car's still here." They stepped up to it and looked inside, it was empty. Hotch scanned the area, hoping for some evidence of what had happened, and then he saw the fragments of glass and plastic shattered on the asphalt a few yards away. He walked over and examined the pieces of the smashed phone, and then he noticed the small splotches of blood.

"Lewis!" He called, "I've got blood." She came over and stood beside him, then swore under her breath. "Can you call CSI? I want to go inside and talk to someone, see if we can fill in some missing pieces."

"Sure thing." She got out her phone and dialed.

"And…Lewis?" She looked back up at her boss. "I think you should call the rest of the team, too." She nodded, looking conflicted.

Hotch passed through the automatic doors and stepped into the library. He glanced around and figured that the best place to start would be with the information desk. A young woman was sitting behind a computer and looked up at him with a bright smile when he stopped in front of the desk. He flashed his badge at her, "Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, FBI."

"Oh, um, hi. I already talked to an agent, just a few minutes ago, is everything okay, mister?"

"Was his name Dr. Spencer Reid?" Hotch demanded, making the girl blink in surprise at his harsh tone.

"Yeah. Yeah it was, what–?"

"Did you see him leave?" Hotch interrupted.

"I did. He came over and asked me some questions, then he went over to that section. After that he just left."

"He didn't talk to anyone else?"

"Well, he talked to Jamie, he's the other desk clerk, asked him some of the same questions he asked me." She was looking more and more confused.

"Could I talk to Jamie?"

"I don't think he's here, his shift was done an hour ago, he usually hangs around for a while after that. I was able to catch him before he left so Agent Reid could talk to him, but he's probably gone by now."

"May I ask what sort of questions you answered for Agent Reid?" Hotch was trying to keep himself composed, hoping that Reid was okay and would just magically waltz out and ask Hotch what he was so worried about. That scenario was little more than wishful thinking, and Reid didn't suddenly appear.

"He asked me if I recognized anyone from any of these pictures. The only one I did recognize was Phoebe. He also had me look up what books the people in his photos all checked out, and then I went to get Jamie." She nodded, satisfied with her explanation.

"He wanted to know books they checked out?"

"Yeah, and it was really weird, too, 'cause the books were all on the same topic."

"What topic?" Hotch asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Ātmāra." She answered.

"I need to know your name and Jamie's surname so I can contact him, please." He pulled out a business card and handed it to her, "This has my number on it, if you remember anything else that might be important, don't hesitate to call me."

"I'm Liza Hart. Jamie's last name is Enright. Um, Agent Hotchner? What's this about?"

"My team is investigating the disappearances of five people… And we think something may have happened to Agent Reid when he left here." He hated having to say it out loud.

"Oh, dear. I hope you find out. He was cute."

"Thank you for your time, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go." Hotch was internally chuckling at the teenager's description, despite the situation.

"Sure thing, Agent." She waved goodbye as he left.

Lewis waved him over from where she was standing beside Reid's borrowed car when he got outside. The crime scene techs were busy searching the ground for evidence, but the rest of the team wasn't yet there.

"You need to see this." Lewis called. Hotch detected the worry in her tone and hurried over. The passenger side door of the SUV was open and piled neatly on the seat were Reid's satchel, badge, and car keys. A card, illustrated with a crow, was resting tauntingly on the items.

******

All eyes were on the piles of evidence scattered across the table in despair. Hotch and JJ sat silently in their chairs, while Rossi and Lewis stood like sentinels between them. Their vigil was interrupted by the entrance of the police chief, a short man who reminded them of Gideon.

"Blockades have been set up on every major road out of town and we are canvassing the area for witnesses," he informed them. "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this, agents. If there is anything you need..." Seeing that no one else seemed to have heard, Rossi gave the man a gracious nod and a thank you. Sensing the group's need for isolation, the chief left quietly, shutting the door behind himself. Rossi sighed, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He dialed Garcia and she picked up after two rings.

"Office of the All-Knowing Oracle, what information can I divine for you today?" Came the bubbly greeting.

"Garcia." Rossi swore he could hear the cheerful attitude being sucked from the room.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. I know that voice, I don't like that voice. When I hear that voice it means something bad's happened. What happened?" Rossi found he didn't have the heart to answer her. Hotch lifted his head to look at him, so he lowered the phone and turned it on speakerphone.

"Rossi, is everyone okay? Please, please, tell me everyone is okay?"

"We don't know, Garcia." Hotch said, "It's Reid, and we just don't know."

******

Rossi and Lewis sat silently next to each other in the SUV as they drove to interview Jamie Enright, their only lead. Hotch and JJ were back at the precinct, reviewing information. Garcia had caught the earliest flight out to Minnesota that she could, refusing to stay cooped up in her office when one of her babies was missing.

When they arrived at the house, each agent took a moment to prepare themselves before stepping out of the car. Rossi rang the doorbell and only a minute later the door opened revealing a young man with piercing grey eyes.

"Jamie Enright?"

"That would be me. Is there something I can do for you, Mister?"

"SSA David Rossi, this is my colleague, SSA Dr. Tara Lewis, we're with the FBI. May we come in?" Rossi flashed his badge at the confused young man.

"Uh, sure." Jamie opened the door wider to allow the profilers in. "I already talked to an agent, a 'Dr. Reid', I think? I'm not sure if I can give you any more than I told him. Have a seat, please." Rossi and Lewis obliged, each sinking down into a nicely cushioned chair in the young man's sitting room. Jamie took the couch across from them, looking concerned but relaxed.

"Dr. Reid is actually who we are here about, Mr. Enright. He's gone missing and you were one of the last people to see him." Lewis leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.

"Are you serious? That's awful," Jamie's eyes grew wide with horror, then he frowned suddenly, a spontaneous thought occurring to him. "Wait, am I a suspect?"

Lewis glanced at Rossi, "What happened after your conversation with Dr. Reid?"

"Ah, well, um. He wandered off towards the shelves. My shift at the desk had just finished, I usually hang around though to help organize the shelves or sort the returns. Lisa caught me to go talk to him, so after that, I went over and helped Kim, um, the head librarian, with some things. I only left half an hour ago, had to stop at the store for groceries. I got here about two minutes before you did," Jamie answered. Rossi sighed internally, if what Jamie said was true, then he wouldn't fit the timeline as a suspect.

"Can we have Kim's contact information?" Rossi asked, carefully keeping his face neutral. Jamie blinked, startled, but quickly pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled a phone number on it. He held it out and Lewis took it, slipping it into her pocket. The agents stood up, Jamie rising with them. "Thank you, Mr. Enright. We appreciate your cooperation." They were escorted to the door.

"Sure, thing. I hope you find him." Jamie smiled at them as Rossi and Lewis walked out and headed to their car.

******

When Rossi and Lewis arrived back at the precinct, JJ and Hotch were crowded around a computer screen hosting the fretful presence of Garcia while they worked feverishly to find their friend. Rossi immediately noticed the Unit Chief's tense shoulders and distracted demeanor. JJ looked like she had been crying but was currently focused, brows furrowed with determination. He sighed, time for some damage control.

"Hotch? Can I talk to you for a minute? In private." Hotch acknowledged him and told the ladies to keep working. Rossi led him into an empty office and shut the door behind them. "Are you okay?" Rossi bluntly began.

"I'm fine." Hotch countered, frustration coloring his words.

"Sure, and I'm the President of the United States," Rossi commented snidely, rolling his eyes discreetly, "Aaron, you are most definitely not fine. Now, let's try this again, and maybe you can answer truthfully this time. Are you okay?"

Hotch glared at his friend, wanting to storm past him and get back to work. This was pointless. Rossi, however, had placed himself strategically in front of the door, blocking the exit. He sighed and gave in.

"I brought him into this, Dave. There's a reason for the prerequisites to get into the BAU. He was so young and we keep failing him. We always take advantage of him and if he dies..."

"Aaron, stop. Just stop. This is not your fault. Reid is not a helpless kid for God's sake. It was his choice to join the BAU. Only his, not yours. He knew the risks, the possible dangers, and he's had more than enough chances to leave. But he hasn't. He is a perfectly capable FBI agent and one of the best we've ever seen in the BAU. You've worked with him for fourteen years, you, more than anyone else, should be sure of his abilities." Rossi snapped at his friend. Sometimes, Hotch just needed a rough push to get him to see sense, and that was exactly what Rossi was going to give to him.

"Dave-" Hotch gaped at him, struck by the sudden realization.

"I'm not done. Reid has been through a ton of crap in his life, more than most people will ever experience. He's stronger than he looks, not to mention brilliant. He has a knack of talking himself out of these types of situations. You need to stop thinking of him as Gideon's inexperienced protégé. Reid can think for himself and protect himself as well. So stop blaming yourself and help find him because even if he doesn't need our help, we're damn well going to give it to him." Hotch slumped in defeat, a gesture of vulnerability he only showed to a select few. Rossi, seeing that he had made his point, left the room, but not before adding a final, biting comment. "When you're finished beating yourself up over this, I would suggest you join the rest of us so we can make some actual progress."

Hotch sat down heavily in an empty chair and rested his face in his hands, trying to figure out where he had gone so wrong. Dave was right, he needed to stop worrying and start working. When he had compartmentalized his thoughts enough that he felt clear-headed once again, he stood, squared his shoulders, and took a deep breath, ready to face the team again.

Three months later and the remaining team was losing hope. They were all exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. Hotch was running on fumes and coffee and was sure everyone else was too, but they refused to give up. Their only lead after dismissing Jamie Enright as a suspect was a witness who had come forward in the first week of the investigation with a rough description of the vehicle and enough details of the supposed Unsub to make a rudimentary sketch of his features. The car had turned up in a used lot, and Garcia had been unable to trace it back to its proper owner, it appeared to have been stolen months ago.

******

Three months later and with the search for Reid at a standstill, Hotch's phone rang. He had known as soon as he had seen the caller ID what the message was, but despite his awareness, the blow was nonetheless devastating to receive. Cruz was recalling them to Quantico. The case was being put on hold. He entered the room where his team was, his phone clenched in his hand and struggling to keep his stoic façade. When they looked up to meet his gaze, they knew immediately, without him having to say a word. Garcia burst out into sobs and cut the video connection, severing communication. JJ swallowed hard and then buried her face in her palms, unable to shed more tears, they had all been expended previously. Lewis took a deep breath, eyes shining, and stared off into the distance, her knuckles clenched tightly in her lap. Rossi closed his eyes, feeling defeat wash over him.

"Wheels up in thirty," Hotch said blankly, a storm raging inside him, his walls as high as they could go to keep the emotion contained. They had lost.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:

The BAU team was sequestered in the round table room after debriefing from their last case. After that terrible case in Minnesota, it became routine to gather in the conference room and go over their paperwork and various reports surrounded by their colleagues. There was something comforting and peaceful in the presence of others, even though the atmosphere of the room was mainly silent. Plus, it made it easier to work on Reid's case with them all together. Even Garcia occasionally joined them in their collective solitude, leaving her tech lair. The newest addition to their team, SA Kai Chung, while he had tried to avoid it when he first joined, had found his place at the table as well after an encouraging push by JJ. Now, the only agent who truly used their desk was Hotch, as he usually arrived at the office before anyone else.

Garcia was with them today, all of the chairs were filled except for the one that hadn't been touched for over a year. It was a constant reminder of what they had lost, and of the hope and determination they still carried. No one ever drank their coffee with sugar anymore either. It called far too many bittersweet memories to mind.

Lewis had brought lunch for them all, from the Thai place down the street, and the team took a break from their work to relax a little bit. Garcia was teasing Rossi, while Chung and JJ laughed along and added their input, Chung joining the techie's side and JJ backing the senior profiler. Lewis and Hotch were engaged in a discussion about female Unsubs, Hotch quashing the feeling in his chest that came with remembering when it was Reid conversing with him and just enjoying the moment. It had gotten easier as more time had gone on to smile again.

Suddenly, Garcia gasped out loud, distracting everyone from their talking. They all looked at the blonde woman, who was now staring at the screen of her phone with something that seemed to be a mix of horror and joy. Then she was off, tottering towards her batcave with all of the speed she possessed and rapidly muttering a number of incoherent phrases. The rest of the team exchanged confused stares, before collectively rising and hurrying after her.

They somehow squeezed into her dark computer-filled office, though personal space was greatly infringed upon and more than a few elbows were jostled. The tech analyst was glued to her computer screen; she didn't even look up when the crowd entered.

"Um, PG? What is it?"

"They–They caught him. Oh my god, they caught him." She whispered.

"Garcia." Hotch demanded sharply. She startled, finally seeming to realize that she wasn't the only one present.

"Sorry, sir. It's just… That… I just got a message from Marshfield, Wisconsin PD, and, well, you know how we sent out a sketch and profile of our Unsub for Reid's case? They just arrested someone fitting that description for kidnapping, apparently the guy he was trying to grab managed to call the police and they caught him. One of the officers used to work in a larger city around the time we were still actively on the case and he recognized the suspect and contacted me." Garcia fired out. JJ blinked in stunned surprise, they all stared at the hacker, brains trying to process this unexpected information. Chung looked between the astonished faces, feeling rather oblivious, but sensing the importance of the information.

"Garcia, tell the Marshfield PD that we're coming. Everyone, wheels up in ten." The order made the group of profilers scatter and there was a flurry of movement as they scrambled to go get ready for the flight.

"Bring our baby boy home, mes amis." Garcia sighed to herself.

******

The trip seemed to take an eternity to the anxious passengers, when in reality it took little more than an hour. The team rushed off the plane as soon as they were cleared, striding across the tarmac to meet the Marshfield police chief, Katherine Bishop. Hotch shook hands with her and introduced himself and the rest of the BAU, his impatience must have shown despite his efforts to keep it hidden because Bishop simply smiled and lead them directly to their cars without any other small talk. She briefed them on what was known so far while they drove, and the agents familiarized themselves with their Unsub so they would be prepared for the interrogation.

"No one's talked to him yet, we were waiting for you guys to arrive. What we do know is that his name is Dr. Clint Hatfield. M.D. and a Ph.D. in chemistry. He moved to Marshfield one year and three months ago. Owns a 2006 Navy blue Dodge Dakota. We don't have a residence for him. Early this morning, he tried to abduct Timothy Holt, a 23-year-old med student at University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He was visiting his parents here. Holt is uninjured, apparently Hatfield tried to knock him out, but he escaped and called 911. There was a unit in the area and the response time was quick. Hatfield tried to flee, but we caught him." Chief Bishop explained as they pulled into the precinct lot and the group made their way inside the building.

The profilers set up in an empty conference room, immediately calling Garcia.

"What have you got for us, Pen?" JJ led the conversation as the rest listened on speakerphone.

"All the dirt my brilliant powers could dig up, sweeties. Dr. Clint Hatfield, 49, holds a M.D. from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate of chemistry from Michigan State, apparently he has an IQ of 153. No criminal record, but he did get a speeding ticket a few years ago. Uh, he was married to one Sarah Dennis, fourteen years ago, they divorced nine years later. He had a daughter Julia Grace Hatfield, but, oh. She died of leukemia when she was eleven, that was in 2015."

"That would have been about a year before the abductions began." Hotch commented.

"Rightamundo, boss man. Dr. Hatfield lived in Rochester, Minnesota with his daughter. He appears to have vacated his house there a little over a year ago and is now living in Marshfield according to his credit card, but he hasn't bought a house. He did buy a new car when he left Rochester though, a Navy blue pick-up, but his previous car matches the model from our witness description, a 1997 silver Volvo 960. He worked as an ER doctor at the St. Mary's Hospital until he quit when Julia passed away. He did some teaching at the University of Minnesota Rochester campus, but it looks like they fired him for inappropriate conduct, a buncha complaints from students had been lodged against him."

"His daughter dying could have been a stressor. What I don't understand is why that would lead to the random victimology we're seeing." Lewis said. "Is that all Garcia?"

"Hon, I could give you so much more, but I don't think the color of his underwear is very relevant." That got the whole room to smile, and Bishop to raise her eyebrow in surprised amusement.

"Well, if we want to find out motive, I think it's time to have a chat with Dr. Hatfield." Rossi remarked. He received murmur of assent from everyone else.

******

Lewis, Chung, JJ and Chief Bishop watched through the one-way mirror as Hotch stalked into the interrogation room, an intimidating glare on his expression, Rossi was on his heels. The door banged loudly behind them as it shut. It was a source of satisfaction to see Hatfield looking sufficiently nervous. Hotch leaned against the wall next to the door, arms crossed, and stared at the prisoner unblinking. Hatfield shifted in his chair uncomfortably. Rossi casually took a seat across from him.

"Dr. Hatfield, my name is SSA David Rossi, I am with the FBI. Earlier this morning you attempted to kidnap Timothy Holt. We also have evidence linking you to the abduction of a Federal Agent in Rochester, Minnesota. That agent is still missing. Now, I will ask one question, and one question only. Where is Dr. Spencer Reid?" The profiler demanded, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. Hatfield looked away and seemed to be considering something.

"I didn't mean to take him. I really didn't, but he was asking too many questions and I couldn't get caught." The doctor finally sighed. "Spencer seemed like a good person."

"Where is he?" Rossi urged, feeling his gut clench at Hatfield's use of the past tense.

"I want a deal."

"Before we talk deal, Doctor, you are going to tell us where Reid is." Hotch snarled, moving forward and slamming his palms against the table. Hatfield jumped and stared at him wide-eyed.

"There's this old veterinary clinic on the edge of town." He rattled off the address. Immediately, Hotch and Rossi turned to leave, the rest of the team was rushing out of the station's entrance.

"Agents," Hotch turned to glare at him, but the doctor continued, "He won't be the same when you do find him. I'm sorry." Hotch shut the door on him, trying to ignore the comment. Reid would be fine, right?

Five minutes later, a squad of police cars and a black SUV raced through the town towards their location.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

"Oh my god." JJ breathed staring at the card that declared 'Spencer Reid, Subject #006, VULPES VULPES' in careful print. She glanced inside the cage through the wire mesh, and found herself looking at a young fox. The orange fur on its face and ruff faded to a russet brown on its tail, obvious maltreatment had dulled the color, which had once been vibrant. Black streaked its legs and the backs of its ears, but the underbelly and tip of the tail were white. It had a slender muzzle, capped with a small, black nose, the rest of its body also skinny. It looked starved, JJ could clearly see its ribs underneath the matted fur. It appeared to be sleeping, curled on its belly, head tucked on its paws and tail brushing its face.

Suddenly, the fox's button nose twitched and its eyes snapped open, their amber ringed pupils locking on to JJ. She startled when the fox shot up with the sound of a warning in its throat, on its paws in mere seconds, hackles raised, teeth bared, and fur puffed. The fox growled at her, the sound strange and high-pitched, and backed up into the corner of its cage. It was on the defensive, however, JJ could see that it felt threatened and scared, despite the outward display of anger. Hotch heard the noise and came over to where JJ was. He peered into the cage with a sickening feeling of dread in his gut and his eyes widened in shock.

"Reid?" The fox's eyes darted to him and it stopped growling, but still looked wary and defensive. JJ gasped and looked at Hotch as well, the fox's reaction leaving her bewildered. The fox looked away from Hotch's stare, flattened its ears against its skull, and let out a low whine.

Hotch turned to JJ, "We need bolt cutters or a key." He gestured to the padlocked wire door. She nodded, still slightly shocked and confused, but hurried to find the necessary tool. Hotch took the time that she was gone to observe his surroundings and the captive fox. While the room had various sized, wire cages lining the walls, making it look like a kennel, the canine was the only thing living thing there besides himself. One of the other cages had an occupant lying on the floor, a small white-tailed deer. It wasn't breathing. Hotch felt his heart clench so he returned his attention to the fox.

While the animal hadn't relaxed at all, neither had it become more aggressive. It simply watched warily. It let out a yelp when the door banged open forcefully and without warning. Hotch spun around, reaching for his gun. If JJ had returned, she would have been more careful. His gun had barely cleared his holster when he heard the click of a revolver being cocked.

"Don't move." Hotch froze. He was facing a man in a dark hoodie and jeans standing in the doorway, the barrel of his gun aimed at the Unit Chief. Hotch noted the slight British accent. Jamie Enright. Damn. "Drop the gun, agent." Hotch complied and his Glock clattered to the ground. "Kick it over to me." The gun skidded across the floor. The man gestured with his revolver, "Step away from the experiment. Shut yourself in the kennel over there." Hotch felt a surge of anger at the animal being referred to as an 'experiment', but pushed it down and reluctantly moved away from the fox, who was now cowering in the corner of its cage. He went into the kennel, the Unsub followed him and shut and locked the wire door. Then he snagged a catch pole that was hanging from the wall and walked over to where the fox was huddled.

While his attention was off of Hotch, the agent carefully crouched and removed the backup gun from his ankle holster. By the time he was standing again, Jamie had slipped the loop over the fox's head and tightened it around its neck. The fox was yipping fearfully and fighting against the contraption. When the man unlocked the cage door and pulled the fox out, Hotch took his chance. He aimed through the mesh and pressed the trigger. The retort of the gunshot echoed loudly, accompanied by the terrified scream of fox.

Hotch's aim was perfect, the Unsub slumped to the ground, a clean hole through his chest. He quickly radioed in for backup and to relay the situation. The fox was frantically shaking its head back and forth and backing into the wall in a futile attempt to dislodge the loop from its throat. JJ ran through the door seconds later.

"Hotch? I heard a gunshot. Is everythi–oh..." She trailed off when she saw the body and pooling blood on the floor.

"JJ, do you have the bolt cutters?" Hotch demanded. She startled, unsure of why Hotch was in a cage, then slipped into her professional mode. She brought over the tool and quickly snapped through the lock, allowing the Unit Chief out.

Hotch first hurried over to the body and kicked the revolver away from the limp hand. He didn't bother to check for a pulse. Task done, he immediately turned toward the fox, which was pawing at the catch pole vigorously. It froze at his approach and its body language conveyed its wariness.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm going to get this thing off you. I'm not going to hurt you." Hotch murmured. He was able to come a little closer, but stopped when the fox growled at him. "Reid. Spencer. It's okay. Let me help." JJ's eyes widened comically at Hotch's slip. Surprisingly, the fox bowed its head an allowed Hotch to release the loop and pull it off, the wire only snagged slightly on the large ears.

Hotch slowly lowered himself to the floor, the fox eyeing him uncertainly. It flinched and growled half-heartedly when Hotch extended his hand, but after a moment it stretched out to sniff the offered fingers, ears laid flat. JJ watched awestruck as the fox padded cautiously closer to the him. It dodged Hotch when he attempted to pet its head gently, but when he tried again, the fox cringed, but permitted it. It still shivered at the contact, but each stroke relaxed the animal marginally, until the creature tentatively crawled into Hotch's lap. It squirmed and twisted in his grip, trying to get comfortable, Hotch held it gently and continued to pet the fox until it calmed.

Hotch gently lifted the fox and himself off the floor, using the bars of the cage to get to his feet. He cradled the orange-furred animal in his arms, its bushy tail hanging down and head resting on his elbow. Hotch started to leave, completely focused on the figure he was holding, and ignored JJ who raised her eyebrow but followed him. When the group passed the kennel with the lifeless deer, the fox in Hotch's arm shuddered and twisted so it was burying its head in his elbow. JJ noticed and her expression saddened with sympathy.

"I'll take care of it." She told Hotch softly. The senior agent nodded to show that he had heard her, and carried the fox away from that horrid place.

******

Hotch had barely stepped out of the old lab and into the sunshine when the fox stiffened. The Unit Chief began carrying the animal towards the SUVs, but he hadn't even gone a foot when the fox wriggled out of his grasp and landed lightly on the ground. It then looked up at him forlornly. Hotch frowned, "Don't you want to get out of here?" The fox began pacing back and forth along an invisible line, watching the cars and chaos a few yards away with what could best be described as longing.

Hotch stooped and tried to pick up the creature again, but when it felt his touch it gave a startled bark and leapt aside. Almost instantly it gave an even louder yelp and skittered back towards Hotch before it collapsed on the ground, small chest heaving and pained whimpers escaping its throat. Hotch was immediately kneeling at the fox's side, tense with worry. The animal was trembling, and its paw and ear kept twitching randomly.

Cautiously, the profiler laid a hand on the furry shoulder. The fox jerked, but then lifted its head and nudged at the arm. Hotch began to stroke the fur along the fox's spine. He narrowed his eyes when his fingers ran across a raised bump under the skin of the animal's ruff. He explored the shape more, the edges indicated it was a rectangle, and it was definitely inorganic.

Suddenly, he came to a horrifying realization. That sonuvabitch. The fox's odd behavior, the invisible boundary, the obvious pain, and now an unnatural rectangle hidden underneath the animal's skin… their Unsub had implanted a shock collar in his 'experiment' so the fox couldn't leave his lab.

He didn't hear the approach, but he definitely noticed Rossi's silent presence when the fox on the ground growled and started trying to get back on its feet.

"Aaron?" Rossi questioned, "What's going on?"

Hotch had to clear his throat before answering. "I need a medic. We have to get this out. He can't leave otherwise."

"What are you talking about? Wait, is that...?" The fox was standing on shaky legs and blinking up at him. It sniffed at Rossi's Italian leather shoes and sneezed, then flinched back when the agent shifted his foot.

"You know those shock collars they have for dogs? The invisible fences? It's like that only it's embedded under his skin."

"That's messed up." A pause. "I'll go get someone."

"Thanks, Dave." Hotch said to the departing back of his friend, the fox stared after him, then shook itself, ruffling its fur, and cocked its head at Hotch. "We're gonna get you out of here, okay, Spencer? Dave went to get someone to help."

******

Hotch was still waiting for Rossi to return when paramedics carrying a stretcher and medical bags rushed by him. He frowned, then opened his mouth to say something, but Rossi decided to appear at that moment, an EMT following behind him. The fox was immediately up and bristling at the medic.

"Spencer." Rossi snapped. The fox flinched, but stopped growling and looked up at the senior profiler, chagrined. He allowed the medic to get close, but watched him like a hawk, his entire body tense. The medic placed his bag on the ground and extended his hand placatingly towards the fox. The animal remained still, and, encouraged, the young man reached into his bag and pulled out the necessary supplies. As soon as the fox saw him take out a scalpel, it reacted. Hotch had never seen an animal look as terrified as the orange-furred mammal did right then. He was sure that the fox would bolt, and prepared to make an interception, it surprised him when it simply lowered itself to the ground, though tremors shook its fur.

The fox remained absolutely still while the EMT worked, applying analgesic and antiseptic to make sure the wound would stay clean and be as painless as possible, Rossi and Hotch watching the operation. When the young man finished, both profilers were surprised again when the fox stood, turned and buried its face in Hotch's jacket. While the Unit Chief tried to soothe the injured mammal, Rossi helped the medic clean up and bag the shock device as evidence. Then he turned to Hotch who was cradling the fox in his arms.

"Ready?" He asked. Hotch nodded and stood. "Let's get out of here. I'll leave Chung to comb the place for evidence."

"Agents?" The medic interrupted as the trio began to walk away. "I would suggest taking it to the vet. I did the best I could, but I'm not an expert on animals and your fox could probably use an exam by someone more qualified." The medic interrupted as the trio began to walk away. Hotch nodded to him, secretly wondering how the creature in his arms would react to that. As a human, Reid hated hospitals. He had a feeling that as a fox, the young genius would have the same disposition, especially after this experience.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5:

They decided to skip the veterinarian for the present moment, it would be better to go to the doctor once they were back in Quantico. The team made their way back to the precinct where Lewis was waiting. JJ kept quiet, but everyone in the car could practically hear the questions bouncing around in her head. Hotch had told her to wait until they were back at the station for information, it would be more efficient if he didn't have to reveal the situation multiple times. JJ had her suspicions, with Hotch's reactions as evidence, but agreed to wait until they could gather the entire team. Of course, Hotch was also providing himself with an extra few minutes to collect his thoughts and figure out the best way to explain.

"You're telling us that this is Reid. A fox is Reid." Lewis said incredulously. Chung looked equally as doubtful. Hotch nodded solemnly, no trace of humor showing on his face. Lewis stared at him, then at said fox. The animal blinked at her from where he was curled up on JJ's lap. The blonde woman seemed to have taken the news fairly well, especially after the way the fox greeted her. Her eyes were still slightly red from the tears of happiness she had shed when Reid had bounded up to her and given her the canine equivalent of a bear hug. JJ hadn't let go of him since. Lewis still didn't seem convinced. "How d'you know?"

"Hatfield told us." Rossi interjected, drawing the room's attention to himself. The fox snapped to attention, body going tense upon hearing the name.

"He could be lying, trying to mess with us."

"It certainly looks like a fox, but it doesn't act like any animal I've met before." Chung finally added his input. Reid looked at him and appeared to frown. Suddenly he leapt off JJ and onto the mahogany top of the desk they were sitting around. The group voicelessly watched as he padded over to Chung and perched in front of the agent. Chung cautiously extended his hand for the fox to sniff. Reid stretched his neck out and his black nose twitched as he accepted the invitation. Satisfied, the fox leaned back and turned to stare at Hotch, a clear question on his face.

"Reid, meet SA Kai Chung. He used to work in the Organized Crime Unit. He joined the BAU seven months ago." Reid flattened his ears in displeasure. "We were down two people, it was necessary to bring another person on to the team, Reid. Chung was the best candidate." The fox looked between the two agents, then let out a huff of acceptance and headed back to JJ.

"Okay, I think I can believe it now." Lewis chuckled, making everyone else grin.

******

"We found him." Rossi declared harshly as he stalked into the interrogation room. Hatfield leaned back in his seat and let out a relieved sigh. "You're going to tell me everything that you had to do with the kidnappings in Rochester, and about your role in the attempted abduction or Timothy Holt this morning."

"You said we'd talk deal." Rossi dropped into the chair across from the prisoner. He pretended not to notice how uncomfortable his seat was. Hatfield's unease was clear, if the rapid tapping of his fingers on the table was any indication.

"That I did. However, before that deal is made, I need to know all the facts, and you, doctor, are the only one who seems to have any idea of what the hell is going on here."

"You promise that I'll get my deal," Rossi nodded grudgingly. "It was Jamie's idea. He approached me after I gave a lecture at University of Minnesota Rochester for his psychology class. He told me he was working on his vet license, but wanted to study Ātmāra. I took him on as my protégé, it was stupid of me." Hatfield shook his head in despair. "We were testing the theory that by destroying every cell in a person's body and rebuilding it in a short amount of time, you could potentially turn them into their Ātmā. I was also hoping that it could cure any disease…"

"Because of your daughter's death," Rossi interjected. Hatfield jerked his head up in surprise, then sadly nodded.

"Julia dreamed of becoming an animal, always wanted to be a butterfly or a squirrel. She really liked squirrels," He smiled wistfully. The agent waited respectively while the doctor reminisced. Hatfield suddenly continued. "I didn't even know that he was experimenting on humans. We had just developed what we thought was the right compound, it's truly brilliant, Jamie's a genius. Came in one day and there she was. Jamie threatened me, told me I was in too deep and couldn't back out now. He said if I tried to do anything that he'd call the police and tell them I did all of it. Her name was Kaylee."

"Kaylee Lange." Rossi confirmed. Hatfield nodded. "What about leaving her personal affects and the card at the scene?"

"The crow is my Ātmā. Jamie planted it there to throw blame on me if we were ever caught. He left her stuff so no one could track it and it would be returned to the family. We didn't want to hurt anyone, we really didn't. We just needed test subjects, and it was the only way. I'm sorry." Hatfield sobbed out and finally broke down completely. Rossi gave him enough time to collect himself before trying to continue.

"What about Agent Reid?"

"I didn't mean to, Jamie called me and said I needed to get down to the library unless I wanted to go to jail. He helped me knock Spencer out and get him in my car, then went back inside so he'd have an alibi. He stayed behind in Rochester to wait you guys out then came up here to meet us. I'm glad we didn't kill him though. I don't think I could have done it anymore if anyone else died."

"There was the dead deer in the clinic where we found Reid," Rossi commented coldly. He could tell that the doctor was holding something back, but had no way of prying the information out of him.

Hatfield nodded. "I thought about trying to get away when she died, but we were so close! It had already worked once, I knew it could be done. Imagine all the people we could save," He sighed. "Can I get a lawyer now? I've told you everything important and you promised me a deal." Rossi clenched his jaw, but signaled his consent with a nod and exited the small, shabby room.

******

Everyone was back in the conference room again, waiting for Hatfield to converse with his lawyer and Garcia to see to it that his story checked out. They were slowly starting to clean up the mess of papers, pins and empty coffee mugs strewn over the desk as an indication of the work they had done. It didn't take them very long with the five pairs of hands involved, even with the small canine following them around the room and threatening to trip them if they didn't pay attention.

Finally, the room was as neat as it had ever been and the group of profilers was left to twiddle their thumbs impatiently. The fox spent this time re-familiarizing himself with his friends and studying the new profiler. He made his rounds several times, allowing each person to pet him. Though he usually abhorred being touched, every gentle bit of contact with his friends had him relaxing and reassured him that he was safe. Oddly enough, the fingers that raked through his fur and stroked his ears felt good.

He also took the chance to fix each agent's unique aroma in his brain. A fox's nose was exceptionally sensitive, meaning that he could form an entire scent profile of someone and each one had key differences along with the consistent 'human' scent. There wasn't a better way to describe it really, but it certainly existed. Hotch smelled like shoe polish, strong black coffee and shaving cream. Rossi smelled distinctly of scotch, his distinctive shampoo that Reid wasn't quite able to place, and a dog. JJ was blanketed in a comforting lavender odor from her perfume, but Reid could also pick up the underlying milk and hormones that came from her nursing Michael. He could smell what he assumed was Henry and Will on her as well. Chung had the same small child scent on him which made the fox curious.

Finally, the phone rang, the caller ID displaying the name of their beloved tech, making everyone sit up straighter, ready for action.

******

Hatfield had an alibi for the abduction for Kaylee Lange like he said he would. He did not, however, have solid confirmation of his whereabouts for the other six. Lewis agreed with Rossi in that Hatfield was not being entirely truthful. She brought up the idea of interviewing Jamie and seeing if the stories matched, apparently, Jamie had survived Hotch's bullet and was currently in surgery. That hope came crashing down when they received a call from the hospital, their only verification had died on the operating table.

Hotch reluctantly worked out Hatfield's plea bargain with his lawyer. Given that they couldn't disprove Hatfield's statement, he was going to be charged with five months of community service for his part as an accessory to kidnapping. Hotch managed to press a fine of ten thousand dollars onto the doctor as well. The lawyer had insisted on mitigating the sentence because Hatfield had been under duress and had cooperated with the police.

When the Unit Chief told his BAU team the news, he was met with various reactions of disgust, anger, and sadness. Everyone felt the brutal sting of injustice, but there was nothing they could do.

"Can't Reid be a witness?"

"What judge would believe that a fox used to be a federal agent? I can still hardly conceive it and I heard what Hatfield said. Most people would just write him off as a lunatic for thinking he transformed a human being into an animal and anyone who fell for his crazy rant would be labeled as insane as well," Rossi said matter-of-factly. He was right, there was no one that would ever believe them. Reid jumped up from JJ's lap and whined at them. He was stared at blankly, everyone too lost in their own miserable thoughts to react. The fox expressed himself with the equivalent of an eye-roll and wandered over to Hotch. The Unit Chief just looked at him until Reid nudged him in the direction of the door. He finally seemed to rouse himself and the mask slipped back into place.

"Let's go home."

******

No one was surprised when Reid immediately claimed the corner of the couch as his own and curled up there in a pile of fur. Without any talking amongst themselves, the five profilers selected their seats. JJ sat next to the small creature and the rest of the team took chairs nearby, keeping close to their newly-found friend. Chung chose to sit apart from them, feeling a little like he was intruding on an intimate moment.

The fox fell asleep once the plane was in the air, undoubtedly exhausted. Each and every passenger couldn't help but glance over every few minutes to check and find assurance that Reid was actually there, and that he really was okay. Hotch made a quick trip to the kitchen area at the end of the row to get coffee and have a quick conversation with Garcia over the phone. She screeched in his ear for a few vicious minutes until Hotch finally managed to cut her off. He probably shouldn't have waited so long to call her. Rossi gave him a sympathetic look when he returned to his seat and leaned forward to whisper into the younger agent's ear.

"You put sugar in your coffee." Hotch blinked in surprise and looked down at the steaming mug. He hadn't noticed his own actions. Rossi leaned back in his chair and smiled knowingly, and they simultaneously glanced at the sleeping Reid.

The rest of the plane ride was spent in a light-hearted silence. Their family was whole once again and that togetherness seemed to have lifted the heavy burden of loss that had been settled over them since Reid had gone missing. They were all smiling the tiniest bit, even the typically stone-faced Hotch, and the peace that settled over them felt too good to be broken by a spoken word.

Sure, he was different now, but they finally had Reid back.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6:

Garcia was awaiting them at the entrance to the bullpen like usual. She lit up with a grin when the elevator doors slid open. Her face fell when she took in their faces and didn't immediately see Reid. Hotch had told her that they had found him, but didn't disclose much more than that.

"Hotch?" She asked, confused. Suddenly, a streak of orange shot out from beneath the crowd of legs and rushed right at Garcia. She shrieked in surprise as the creature skidded to a stop directly in front of her and leapt up to plant its front feet firmly on the bottom of her flowered dress. The tech genius gasped. "Aw. He's so cute!" She bent down and started scratching the fox on his head and the animal leaned into her hand, obviously delighted. The rest of the profiling team formed a tight semi-circle around them.

Garcia glanced around at their faces again. "Where's Reid?" Lewis opened her mouth to respond, but quickly snapped it closed, unsure of what to say. The fox at their feet yipped softly and nudged the tech with his nose. Garcia patted him absentmindedly, still waiting for an answer.

"Right in front of you." Rossi remarked drily. Garcia blinked and looked down at the canine who let his tongue loll out happily and quirked his ears at her.

"You're kidding." The senior agent shook his head in denial. Reid licked Garcia's fingers to concur with Rossi. Garcia gaped at them, but when no one made a move to correct Rossi, she seemed to accept it as truth. She smiled down at their small companion, still looking slightly shocked, but recovering with every passing second. "Well, then. Guess we'll just have to spoil you, isn't that right, my little creamsicle?" Everyone stared at her in wonder. "What?"

"Conference room, now." Hotch ordered, marginally less stern in tone than usual. They nodded and headed through the glass doors of the bullpen to drop their stuff at their desks and then hurried up to the round briefing table where most of their days were already spent. The group sat in their chairs, automatically avoiding the perpetually empty chair. When the fox who had trailed in on Garcia's heels leapt neatly into the seat, JJ nearly opened her mouth to voice her protest at someone sitting in 'Reid's chair', until she caught herself. Instead a wide grin split her face at the sight of the large ears peeking up over the edge of the tabletop.

Reid had noticed the practiced ease at which the team skirted around the chair and settled into their places and furrowed his brow in confusion. He shrugged inwardly and didn't hesitate to take the seat. Still curious, he used his enhanced sense of smell which was seeming to have trouble adjusting to the new environment to see if he could determine anything. There were absolutely no scents on the chair's fabric other than dust and the faint hint of Garcia's peach cream hand lotion. The implications struck him in an instant, a strong feeling of overpowering love for his surrogate family swept over him. He had never doubted that they would keep looking for him and eventually find him, but somehow, the reaffirmation given by something as simple as an empty chair made his heart swell.

"We have a lot to discuss. I know that you are all tired and still anxious about Reid, so I'd like to make this as quick as possible." Hotch told them all, not bothering to hide his miniature smile which belied his relief and joy. That sort of action seemed nearly trivial at this point in time. At the very least it was useless, the team knew him too well. At that moment, Section Chief Matteo Cruz walked in and scanned the room, his eyes finally rested on the fox.

"I am assuming that you have a very good explanation." He said simply, quirking an eyebrow at them. There was a hasty exchange of looks before Rossi had the courage to try and give a general summary of events that he knew Garcia was dying to hear as well.

******

It was decided that Reid would be going home with Hotch. Chung immediately opted out, considering they barely knew each other. Neither had the fox seemed particularly keen on staying with Lewis. JJ had a baby and a nine-year-old and figured that they wouldn't do very well with another small creature in the house. Reid glared at her for the comment on his current stature, but agreed. Despite loving his godsons with all his heart, he wasn't sure that he could handle being constantly harassed by young children. Rossi had his dog and wasn't sure that he would take well to an 'intruder'. Garcia's landlord didn't allow pets in the apartments, a matter which the blonde lamented a great deal. So, Reid was stuck with Hotch. He found that he didn't mind that much.

The team spent another hour laughing with each other and getting used to having Reid around again. They also debated on the more serious topics, like what to tell Diana Reid and the BAU kids, and how they were going to deal with the situation of Reid being a fox. Eventually, said fox grew tired and curled up on Garcia, his head nodding as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness, feeling warm and loved for the first time in a long time. Garcia stopped talking and smiled down at him, causing everyone else to pause as well.

"Someone looks tired." Lewis commented.

"He's been through a lot. I'd be surprised if he wasn't." Hotch replied. "I guess this means that it's time to go home." Garcia looked hesitant to remove the animal from her lap and similar expressions of reluctance adorned JJ's, Lewis', Rossi's, and even Chung's face. Not one of them wanted to let Reid out of their sight.

It took another twenty minutes for the group to finally pack up and make their way out of the building, Hotch cradling the fox against his chest. Everyone said one last goodbye to their canine friend and headed to their cars. The Unit Chief approached his vehicle and lay Reid in the passenger seat before getting in behind the wheel. He glanced over at the passed out fox, who had only briefly woken from his slumber to give his friends a proper goodbye, and smiled contentedly.

******

Hotch woke abruptly to the sound of screaming. He was instantly out of bed and grabbing his Glock before he was fully alert. He rushed out to the hallway and saw Jack standing in the doorway to his bedroom, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.

"Go back in your room, buddy, and close the door," The father whispered. Jack nodded and disappeared from sight. A second later the bedroom door clicked closed. Hotch moved stealthily towards his living room, where the sounds were emanating from, and also where Reid had been sleeping. His heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his hands steady and his expression didn't betray his fear. He peered into the room and lowered his gun with a sigh.

The fox on the couch was obviously in the throes of a nightmare, shaking and crying out in his sleep. Hotch set the pistol on the table and went over to his friend. The animal let out another scream, chillingly human in nature and Hotch frowned as he tried to figure out the best way to handle this. He settled for lightly touching the fox's bony shoulder and firmly calling his name.

Reid snapped awake and it was only Hotch's quick reactions that allowed him to pull back before he was bitten by the panicked creature. It was only when his jaws closed on midair that Reid seemed to become aware of his surroundings. Hotch watched with concern as the fox pulled back in on himself, eyes huge with residual fear as he stared at the man above him. Unexpectedly, Reid bolted, leaving Hotch stunned by the sofa.

"Daddy?" Jack's small voice floated to him through the air. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, buddy. Reid just had a bad dream," Hotch replied, smiling wearily at his son.

"Oh. Does he need a bedtime story? Those always help with my bad dreams."

"I'll read him one if he wants it. How about you get back to sleep, Jack? It's really late," Hotch suggested. Jack's frown was nearly identical to the one his father made when he was worried, but he nodded and headed to bed again.

Hotch rubbed the sleep from his eyes and began to search for Reid, who appeared to be hiding somewhere in the apartment. He knew that his friend would probably be experiencing nightmares, but he didn't expect one so soon. He wondered what sort of horrors had made the fox scream like that. The fact that he couldn't talk about it would make his recover that much harder.

The canine turned out to be cowering under Hotch's bed and it took him nearly an hour to coax the petrified creature out from under the frame. They were both exhausted, and, in the hope that it might prevent more nightmares, Hotch allowed the fox to curl up on the bed next to him. He watched Reid until the animal's breathing evened out and his tense body relaxed. Finally, his eyes, too, slid closed and the pair fell into a deep slumber.

******

The next day, Jack was at school, and so the two were alone in Hotch's apartment. It would stay that way for a while, Hotch had arranged for Jessica to pick Jack up from school and his son would sleep over at her house. Given Reid's nightmares, he thought it would be best if Jack wasn't there and could get a good night's sleep.

The morning involved a surprise trip to the vet, an experience which neither fox nor human was inclined to repeat. It was determined that Reid was a perfectly healthy, albeit small and slightly underweight fox. His wound from the removal of the shock device was healing nicely, but the friendly, female veterinarian recommended it be kept covered for at least another week. Reid sulked the rest of the day, angry at Hotch and still shaken from their visit. Hotch let him, knowing that he would have been just as infuriated. Instead, he spent much of the afternoon in his office, researching foxes and filing his reports.

Rossi called around six, inviting them over for dinner. The rest of the team would be there as well. Hotch called Reid in to talk to the fox about it and he agreed. Reid left and so Hotch took a break to talk to his long-time friend.

Reid huffed softly, his brain whirling as he considered his options. He needed to be able to talk to his friends, the issue was figuring out how. It took him only a few moments before he came up with an idea. He carefully slipped away from Hotch and padded to the living room, where he knew Hotch kept a supply of what he needed in the closet. It took him a few tries to get the door open, but he eventually managed. He nosed the door open wider and scanned the shelves. Ah. There, on the third shelf up. Even standing on his hind legs, it was too high for him to reach.

Reid exhaled noisily, but his brain still worked fast, even in this form, and seconds later he had an idea. He pulled a taller box from the bottom shelf, gripping a corner with his teeth, and once that was in place, he was able to jump up in it and gain a few extra inches in height. Now he could reach the box the game was in. He was able to bite the edge of the lid, where it overlapped the bottom half, and tug it forward until it fell off. Scrabble tiles scattered everywhere when the box hit the floor with a clatter. Momentarily off balance, Reid found himself falling backwards as well. He wasn't sure how he did it, though he suspected that having the body of a fox also meant he had the animal's reflexes as well, he was able to twist around and land on his paws. He would have to look into that. Mission accomplished, Reid patted himself on the back, metaphorically of course, he doubted that his limbs had the capability to do that in his current state. Then he began to scrape together the tiles.

A couple rooms away, Hotch finally ended his conversation with the team and hung up the phone. He immediately noticed the absence of a certain fox. Trying not to get too worried, he started checking around the rooms. When he stepped into the living room he blinked in surprise and confusion. Spread across the floor where small wooden squares, each embossed with a black letter. Sitting in the midst of the mayhem was a satisfied looking fox.

"Reid…" Hotch didn't know what to say. The fox looked up at him innocently, ears perked, and swished his tail. Damn, he was cute when he tilted his head like that. Then Reid started arranging tiles, pushing them with his paws and nose and gently using his teeth, he lined up five of the letters. _H-O-T-C-H_. Oh. "You're a genius." Hotch had to stifle a snort at the entirely too human expression on the orange face, the one that said, 'Well, duh.', instead he sat down on the floor so he was more at Reid's level. "I guess that's a bit of an established fact, isn't it?" This time he did chuckle at Reid's expression, causing the fox to flick his tail in annoyance and glare at the Unit Chief, which made him laugh even harder.

"Okay, did you need to tell me something?" He asked when he had regained control of himself again. _MOM_. The canine spelled out.

"Garcia's been writing her letters and she and JJ both went to visit her a few times. Rossi continued paying for her treatment at Bennington, everyone else pitched in a few times as well." At Reid's surprised and upset look, Hotch was quick to try and reassure him. "He volunteered, Spencer. She's your mother and we couldn't not care about her because that would mean we didn't care about you." While he hated that his disappearance had forced that responsibility on his friends, he was extremely grateful. His mom was okay. He glanced up at the man and wagged his tail to demonstrate his thanks. Then he started to line up more of the letters.

_HOW LONG WAS I GONE_. A wave of guilt crashed over Hotch, but he kept his neutral mask on, "One year, three months…and 19 days. It's been a year since Cruz officially ordered us to stop working the case." The fox ducked his head and his ear twitched. Then he arranged more Scrabble tiles. _OFFICIALLY_. "Off the record, he told us to keep working to find you, as long as it didn't interfere with other cases." Hotch answered.

Reid took a little longer to communicate his next thought this time. He kept changing letters and swiping them away, as if he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. Hotch waited patiently until the fox was done. _HOW DID YOU FIND ME_.

"Well…" Hotch trailed off and Reid caught a whiff of his emotions, he smelled anger, guilt, and frustration. He winced at the intensity of it. "The Unsub made a mistake." He began.

******

By the time Hotch had finished his narration, he was close to tears, a state that Reid had only seen the Unit Chief in once before. He crept up to his friend and laid his head on the man's knee, even licking his fingers. Hotch chuckled weakly, and scratched the fox behind his large ears, making Reid swish his tail in victory.

"Reid. The Bureau…" The fox looked up at Hotch curiously, the man corrected himself, "I need to know what happened after you disappeared." Reid withdrew from his position by Hotch's side and backed away, shaking his head back and forth vigorously. "Spencer, please." The fox regarded him and gave a low whine. "I realize you don't want to, but I have to know. Please."

Reid could smell the overwhelming sadness on his friend, and reluctantly agreed. He padded back over and stared at the array of Scrabble tiles. He huffed dejectedly, then started to craft his story, one letter at a time.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7:

_One year, three months, and twenty-one days before…_

Reid groaned as he woke, briefly wondering why his bed was so cold. He shifted to see if he could pull his blankets back up, which was when he finally registered the duct tape binding his wrists together and another piece over his mouth. It didn't take long for him to remember what had happened. He took a deep breath through his nose, despite the many experiences he'd had being held hostage or stuck in other dangerous situations, it never seemed to get any easier to calm down long enough to think. Thankfully, the steady breathing helped to clear his mind.

First step: Figure out where you are. This was made difficult by the complete darkness that surrounded him. He let his fingers brush the surface beneath him and found that it was carpeted. The roof was metal and only a few inches above his head, he couldn't stretch out fully either without his legs and skull hitting walls. He smelled gasoline, which, coupled with the rest of the factors, suggested that he was in the trunk of a car, likely a sedan given the shape of the trunk. Okay, he could work with that.

Step two: Is there anything around you that could help you escape? It was difficult to check his pockets, but he quickly realized that his keys, gun, phone, and bag were all gone. He felt around the edges of the trunk with his bound hands and was disappointed to find that the space was completely void of any objects at all, besides himself. He didn't discover any sharp edges that he could possibly use to saw off the duct tape, either.

Third step: Wait. Having failed at the other actions, there wasn't much more he could do until he could see or talk to his abductor. He hoped that his team would notice he was missing soon, he figured that Hotch at least knew something was wrong given their conversation on the phone. It was unexpected when the car rumbled to life beneath him, and he felt it start to move. He lay back defeated and struggled to rein his emotions.

He heard muffled sirens sounding from far away and started to bang on the hood of the trunk desperately. The car sped up abruptly and the rapid acceleration caused him to slam into the wall. Then the brakes screeched and Reid tumbled into the opposite side with a grunt of pain. The warning was clear and soon the sirens faded. Reid slumped as his last hope disappeared into the distance.

******

The hood of the trunk opened, making Reid squint against the light of day that aggravated his headache. That didn't keep him from clearly hearing the click of a gun being cocked, however.

"Sit up and stay quiet and I won't have to shoot you," A voice demanded, Reid tentatively cooperated, though the duct tape on his mouth and hands would have made it difficult to do otherwise. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the brightness as he was tugged out of the trunk and made to stand rather unsteadily on the pavement. He glanced at his assumed kidnapper who had a tight grip on his elbow, supporting him.

The man was slightly shorter than Reid, but much older. His styled black hair was streaked with grey, especially at his temples. He had a worn, but kind face, there were crinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth, indicating that he smiled a lot. But when Reid looked into his brown eyes, they were void, empty of emotion, which scared Reid more than the gun still pointed at him.

The Unsub led him across a neglected yard and into a dilapidated house that could more accurately be described as a shack.

Once inside, the man forced Reid into the corner of a small room off the main hall. There was a dusty mattress against one wall which the agent was made to sit down on, below the only window in the room, which was boarded up. He was relieved when the duct tape covering his mouth was torn away, albeit painfully, allowing him to breathe more freely. The man stepped back and lowered the gun, seeming to study Reid with a calculating gaze. Given that the weapon was no longer trained on him, the profiler took a chance and spoke up.

"Where am I?" He was surprised when the man answered in a charitable tone.

"Wisconsin. This will be your home for the next while, I'm trying to find a better area to set up though, and once your head heals, the experiment can begin. Sorry about that by the way, whacking people in the head isn't my usual style, but I was in a hurry. Jamie'll be joining us in about a month, I would say, when your damn team is off his back. For now, it's just you and me." Reid blinked at the unexpected information, this Unsub was being bafflingly friendly. He vaguely remembered the name Jamie and knew that it was somehow pertinent to the case, but his skull still pounded with the aftershock of the probable concussion he had sustained and made it difficult to focus too hard. He decided it was safe to ask another question, though.

"Who are you?"

"Ah, well now. My name is Doctor Clint Hatfield. You met my assistant, Jamie, we're working on a project involving Ātmāra. I'm sure you already guessed that though."

"Something along those lines," Reid agreed. It was starting to come back to him. He winced when the shrill ring of a phone sounded. Dr. Hatfield pulled a cell out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

"I apologize, Spencer," Reid startled, he hadn't realized that the doctor knew his name, "I must take this." He stepped out of the room and locked the door, leaving a confused and scared Reid inside with no way out.

******

They spent a month in the crumbling house, during that time, Reid never left the room he had been put in when they first arrived. He was given three meals a day, and Dr. Hatfield always engaged him in conversation on these occasions. They usually discussed various inquiries in the scientific field, Reid discovered that Clint, as he came to know him, was actually quite brilliant. He got to know the man very well, but the doctor never told him anything about the Ātmā project, and always left when Reid tried to bring it up. Though he didn't talk about her much, he had mentioned someone named Julia, who Reid presumed to be the man's daughter, and it was always with an air of great sadness. He knew that Clint often left the house, he could hear the car when it drove off. Sometimes, it was hours before Clint returned.

Reid had long ago given up on escaping. The doctor had removed the bonds on his wrists during the first week, but he never failed to lock the door behind him and there was nothing within the room that could potentially aid in an attempt at freedom. Despite the amiable nature of their relationship, Clint always kept his gun in his pocket while he visited Reid and kept his distance from his captive.

In the long stretches of isolation, Reid had little better to do than think, thankfully it was what he did best. Clint had given him a pen at his request, and he would scrawl complex mathematical equations on the walls of his prison in order to keep himself busy, even though he could probably solve most of them in his head granted enough time. He also ruminated on the team and his friends in Virginia. Those sessions quite often left him depressed and feeling even lonelier than before.

Finally, the day came when Reid heard the familiar sounds of Clint's car pulling up in front of the house. Something was different on this instance, however, the front door opened and Reid listened as two separate people conversed while they entered the house.

The pair came into his room, Clint was one of them, and the second, Reid recognized as the clerk from the Rochester Public Library.

"Spencer, say hello to Jamie, there will be an occasion for more of an introduction later. Now, I do believe that it is time to get out of this dump." Reid nodded in silent agreement and the three of them left together, Clint keeping a hand on Reid's elbow. When they stepped outside, it was night, Reid was stunned by the sky, a vision that he hadn't seen in a month. He didn't have long to admire the open air before the group was clambering into the car. Jamie drove and as they cruised toward their destination, Reid was left to stare out the window at the passing scenery. Suddenly, he was hit with a realization, for Jamie to be here, that meant he was no longer a suspect in Reid's abduction. That led to the question of whether the team were still looking for him or not. If they were, it wasn't likely that they would find him, as their only lead was now in a different state. He was filled with sorrow and had to hold back a sudden wave of tears.

******

The journey ended in the parking lot of what seemed to be an abandoned veterinary clinic. Jamie took Reid inside and shoved him into an old dog kennel, the agent preferred even the tiny room in the falling-apart shack to this. Being treated like an animal didn't sit well with him, not to mention that it was cold. At least the kennel was from floor to ceiling, meaning Reid had enough room to stand up and move around. He slid heavily against the back wall to the ground and began to wait.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8:

Reid lay quietly in his kennel, struggling to remain conscious. He was trying to listen to the conversation of the two 'scientists', but after two weeks of little sleep, it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold his eyelids open. He had been getting sick, and each day that passed only made him more ill, his immune system was tired of fighting, and as a result, so was he. He forced himself to stay as alert as he could, though. From what he could hear and understand, they were almost ready to begin the experiment. He was the test subject. That knowledge terrified him because, as of yet, he had no idea what they were testing.

He must have fallen asleep despite his best efforts, as he found himself jolting awake when Jamie banged on the bars with his despised shock baton. "Get up, Six." He barked, "Clint's ready for you." Reid complied with the order, his aching body reminding him of what resulted from refusing a demand. "Up against the wall." Jamie unlocked and pulled open the cage door. He gestured with the baton and Reid obediently followed him. He was led down a narrow hallway and ushered into a lab room that smelled heavily of antiseptic. Jamie turned to shut the door, and Reid took his chance. He attacked and sent the younger man crashing to the ground, then he ran, through the open door and back down the hallway. His bare feet slapped the floor and his heart was thumping wildly in his chest. He could hear Jamie's shouted curses as he chased after the runaway prisoner.

Reid rounded a corner and stumbled right into Dr. Hatfield, who was presumably making his way to the lab. Reid tumbled to the ground with a yelp. Jamie caught up to the pair seconds later. Reid tried to get back on his feet but a quick jab of the baton left him gasping on the floor as his limbs twitched from the electricity. Hatfield roughly jerked him upright by his shirt and marched him back to the lab. He was shoved down onto what looked like a hospital bed and restrained with padded straps.

"Don't do this doctor, you can still let me go, it's not too late to do the right thing," Reid begged, pulling at the bonds.

"I am doing the right thing, Six. My experiments will change the world; they will help so many people in the future. How could you not want to be a part of that?" The doctor smiled at him before poking an IV needle into the crook of Reid's left elbow and connecting it to a bag of some sort of fluid. Jamie removed his shirt and his grey sweatpants with the aid of a pair of scissors, leaving Reid naked and feeling uncomfortably exposed. Hatfield then swabbed his chest with an alcohol pad, Reid flinched at the cold fabric on his bare skin. "You'll be monitored throughout the procedure," he attached a pulse-ox meter to Reid's slender finger, "There are two different stages, if you make it past the first, I'll be back in to administer the next compound." He prepped a large syringe filled with a clear liquid and placed the tip of the needle in position. "Jamie, record start time of experiment as 15:23." He punctured the flesh and depressed the plunger, injecting the drug into Reid's bloodstream.

******

It started as an itch on his chest. He tried to bring his hand up to scratch at it, but the straps prevented the movement. The itch spread across his body and he shifted uncomfortably. Reid struggled to breathe, his lungs begging for air. The feeling progressed and he felt dizzy and light-headed, his eyes refused to focus. His thoughts were scrambled and chaotic, nothing made sense.

He wasn't sure how long this went on, time seemed distorted, but gradually the world came back into focus and the incessant itch disappeared.

A grinning face loomed over him, making him flinch. "Congratulations, Six. You made it past the first stage." Reid stared blankly at the doctor. "The next stage will be uncomfortable. Once I inject the compound, I will be able to remove your restraints. Try not to hurt yourself too much, please. I want this to be successful. Jamie? Record 16:56 as the start of Stage Two." Another needle pushed into his chest, another drug spread into his cells. As promised, the straps holding him down were undone, freeing his limbs. His job done, Hatfield moved away.

The pain hit a second later, Reid screamed involuntarily and curled into a ball, trying to block it out. Every cell of his body was on fire, it hurt beyond anything he could ever imagine. The agony was like being burned alive, only worse, because he wasn't just being blackened and charred on the outside by the bonfire, there were flames licking his insides, his lungs were burning, his bones, his skin, his brain, his heart, it wouldn't stop. A bright light seared his eyes so he squeezed them shut and buried his head in his arms with a whimper.

It felt like he was dying, maybe he was dying. He was floating in a pain-filled void, trying simply to hold on to that last thread of life because he could not die. He couldn't. Dying would mean leaving his mother behind, something he promised he would never do. It would mean abandoning his team, his friends, the only people besides his mom that he truly cared for, and he that he knew loved him back equally. It would mean leaving Henry and Michael without a godfather. So he held on to that single strand as tightly as he could and would not let go, despite the terrible pain he was suffering that begged him to release.

He would not let go.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9:

He must have fallen unconscious because he jerked awake to a very different world. He felt strange and unnatural, but he was no longer in pain which was a relief.

"Incredible. It worked. It actually worked." Reid quivered at the loud voice nearby. He could barely see, it was blindingly bright and all the shapes around him were blurred. His limbs seemed awkward and there was an odd sensation on his skin. He tried to get up, but his uncoordinated feet had him falling back down.

He was overwhelmed by the scent of anesthetic and bleach that wafted towards him, carrying the odorous undertones of cinnamon and sweat. His hearing was overly sensitive for some reason, every faint noise was caught by his ears, including the footsteps growing steadily louder. Reid was growing scared, everything felt wrong. He tried again to get up, but wasn't able to. He struggled when a hand grabbed his jaw and tilted his head towards the ceiling. A blurry face hovered above him.

"I did it," The loud voice boomed excitedly. Reid's sensitive ears flicked back reflexively. Wait, what? Those were not his ears. " _Vulpes vulpes_. Red fox. Who would've thought, huh, Six?" The hand ran its fingers through the short fur on Reid's head and he shuddered and drew back from the strange sensation. "Well, I guess I have some new things to take care of. Jamie, take Six back, a medium size will work, I think."

Then there were more fingers grasping at his ruff and taking a handful of skin and fur. Reid yelped as he was lifted up, surprising himself with the sound as it was not the one he had intended to make. He squirmed in the tight grip, but Jamie carried him out of the lab.

He was locked in a small cage in the previous kennel-lined room. Reid lay in a helpless pile of fur and paws on the floor of the cage until long after Jamie had left. His world had been turned upside-down overnight, leaving him lost and scared.

It took some time and a lot of frustration, but he was finally able to control his muscles enough to stand, it took even more time before he could walk. He searched the corners of the cage meticulously, plotting out the size and looking for weak spots. The space was square and there was a plastic tray under his feet so he wasn't walking on wire. If he stood so that the tip of his tail brushed the back wall– it was still hard to believe that he had a tail– his nose touched the cold mesh of the door. He had to stretch his neck and lift his chin high to nudge the roof, and could look through the wire above him only to see the black plastic of another cage's bottom. He didn't find any design flaws that could help him escape, unfortunately. Investigation completed, he padded over to a corner opposite the door and curled up miserably on the hard floor with his back to the wall.

Reid buried his face against the long brush of his new tail and used it to stifle the small cries of hopelessness that escaped his throat. There was an ache in his chest that came from being so far away from everything he was familiar with. He missed his friends so much that it physically hurt. He wanted to go home.

******

The next day was torture for the newly metamorphosed fox. Every muscle in his body ached so much that he could barely breathe without sharp pain stabbing through him. Added to that, the overwhelming input from his enhanced senses made him feel nauseous and uncomfortable. Jamie or Clint came in to check on him multiple times, but Reid pretended that he was asleep on each occasion. They left him alone. Eventually the pain subsided enough for him to relax and fall into the blissful nothings of unconsciousness.

Reid jolted awake, breathing hard after his latest nightmare. He shook himself to rid his mind of the last cobwebs of sleep. It was only after doing so that he realized he was still a fox, and he didn't hurt as much as yesterday. He breathed in deeply, then immediately whimpered and tried to cover his face when he was assaulted by scent. His sensitive olfactory glands picked up smells from his surroundings that he had never strongly noticed before. There was dust, the air was thick with it, a strong bleach odor, and faint traces of other animals, he had trouble deciphering what species, but each was distinct. It was remarkable, really, the human nose was not very perceptive at all; intellectually he already knew this, but it was one thing to have the knowledge and quite another to actually experience it.

He swiveled his head when he heard two sets of footsteps from outside the door, they were coming towards him. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal Jamie and Dr. Hatfield. He tried to get up, but his legs collapsed back underneath him when he put his weight on them. Clint waited while Jamie unlocked the cage and pulled Reid out. The fox gave a token whine of protest, but in reality he wanted out of the prison badly. Jamie carried him by the nape of his neck, and uncomfortable position that made him squirm.

The two scientists took the fox to a room that he had never been in before and he was laid on a table. Although he knew he could attempt to escape, his was heavy with exhaustion and his limbs were still refusing to cooperate, so he simply watched Jamie and Clint as they moved around the room. He snapped back to attention when he saw Dr. Hatfield approaching with a syringe. He was quickly scooting away as best he could, but the doctor caught him and held him still.

"It's okay, I just need to draw some blood, Spencer, relax."

Not really seeing another option, Reid held still while Hatfield did the procedure. They ran a bunch of other tests, Reid couldn't remember them all, they all seemed to blur together in a haze of pain and weariness.

At the end of the day he was placed back into the cage, a matter which he loathed, but was too tired to do anything about. He fell asleep to silence and loneliness.

******

The next few months continued in a similar pattern, he would be woken up by Jamie and removed from the cage, Clint would run a variety of tests to gauge intelligence, pain tolerance, stamina, health, and adaptability. Reid would be fed and given water at least twice a day. He was thankful that foxes are omnivores and that Dr. Hatfield didn't insist on feeding him dog food or something of the sort. He ate the insects and fruit without protest. The dead mice were disturbing, but Reid found that if he was able to swallow his disgust over eating it, the part of him that was a fox actually enjoyed it.

Finally, on a day when Reid was cranky, tired, and done with being used as a lab rat, he lashed out. The recipient of his irritability was Jamie, who, when he went to grab the fox and take him back to his cage, received a bite on the hand for his troubles. It was a substantial wound; Reid didn't see the assistant for the rest of the day. That was the first time the muzzle was used.

Reid hated the muzzle. It felt constrictive on his head and made it difficult to drink and impossible to eat. The leather and wire contraption made it so that his jaw could not open more than a centimeter, which was its purpose, but Reid was always miserable when it was on.

He made a total of four escape attempts during his captivity. The third had Hatfield fitting Reid with his shock collar, and installing a system around the perimeter of the property that prevented Reid's exit. He had managed to get into the woods and was free for two days before Jamie caught him again. It didn't take long for Reid to tear off the collar and try again, however. That was when Clint had the brilliant idea of embedding the device under his skin. After that Reid admitted defeat. He never stopped hoping though.

When Reid had been there for a year, Dr. Hatfield came back with a girl. Her name was Angela. He wanted to test his serum again, to see if he could replicate the results of his first 'successful' experiment. Reid still remembered her vividly. She was the only human he had seen in a long time other than Jamie or Clint. Even though he couldn't talk to her as a fox, even separated by wire and locks, they bonded and found solace in each other's presence.

She was young and pretty, she hadn't lost any of her kindness or innocence yet. Reid didn't know her last name, but when she was still a human, she told him things as they sat together in captivity. She told him about her family, her friends, her life. She was only twenty-two. One morning, Reid woke up to find her motionless on the floor of her kennel. Her Ātmā was a white-tailed deer. Hatfield's experiments had accomplished what he had intended, but they had also killed her.

That was the day that the team found him.

******

_Present day..._

Hotch felt sick with rage and guilt as Reid finished recounting what had happened to him. It had taken hours for him to spell out each sentence, though he tried to keep it as condensed as possible. Hotch had written everything that the fox had 'said' down, so that Reid wouldn't have to go through the retelling again.

Reid, trying to keep himself from breaking down into an emotional mess, padded over next to Hotch. The man picked up his friend, who stiffened at the touch, and held him close to his chest. "I'm sorry," Hotch whispered into the short fur on the fox's head, "I'm so sorry, Spencer." Reid relaxed in his arms, wishing that he could tell the man that it wasn't his fault.

The two sat there together in silence until it was time to go to Rossi's, surrounded by scattered letters, taking comfort in the embrace.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10:

Reid had refused to stay at the apartment when Hotch went back to work. Cruz allowed the fox to hang around the office as long as he didn't distract the other agents too much. The first case the team left on, Reid was forced to remain behind with Garcia, which he did not appreciate at all. After a week of dealing with the irritable creature's antics, Cruz relented and gave permission for Reid to go with the BAU team on future cases. He was to be registered as a service animal so that he wouldn't be barred from anywhere the team went. He even got his own flak jacket, borrowed from the K-9 Unit.

The fox carried around his bag of scrabble tiles wherever he went so that he could communicate if necessary. The only drawback was that the small wooden squares made a mess, meaning he couldn't use them for everything. Thankfully, over time the team, especially JJ, got better at reading his body language and understanding his barks and whines. They tried other methods of conversing as well. Garcia brought in an Ouija board one time, which was okay, but hard for Reid to slow himself down enough for everyone else to read. An extra-large keyboard worked well, but was difficult for the fox to haul around and required him to be near a computer.

The team was on stand-down for a while, but finally a case came in that demanded the BAU's presence in southwestern Kansas. Women were being murdered in their homes in the small city of Ulysses. Local LEO's were way out of their depth, the area hadn't seen a single murder for years, and three women strangled in two months was extreme.

******

A little less than three hours after they received the case, the BAU were landing in the Ulysses airport where their reception included the Chief of Police and two of his officers. They were driven to the precinct they would be working out of, where they were given a mid-size conference room to set up in.

Rossi sighed for the fifth time that hour. He had been watching Reid carefully as they worked side by side. The rest of the team sans JJ were out in the field, but the senior agent and the fox were the only two in the room as JJ was setting up a press conference with the Chief of Police. A door slammed shut somewhere in the precinct and Reid flinched again. It had barely been two weeks since the team had rescued Reid and for him to already be pretending he was fine was a joke. The kid had been held captive by two wackjobs for over a year and there wasn't lasting damage? Yeah, right. The genius had thrown himself right back into the BAU without even a pause. That should never have happened with any other agent in his situation, it wouldn't have happened if Reid was human, but as a fox he was stubborn as hell. Possibly more so than even Hotch.

He'd bet his job and half a million dollars that Reid was simply trying to bury the trauma instead of dealing with it. It was starting to show. Though he was attempting to disguise it, the fox was obviously skittish. He jumped at every noise and stuck close to the rest of them when there were a lot of strangers around. The hypervigilance was also quite noticeable. If someone tried to touch him without his consent, it was more than likely that they would be bitten. Textbook PTSD. The team was used to Reid not liking physical contact so they didn't seem to notice the changes in his behavior, but Rossi had been a profiler for a long time. Despite his best efforts, Reid wasn't coping well.

It looked like it was time to have a talk with Aaron, after which he would probably be confronting the headstrong canine.

******

Reid was exhausted. He hadn't been sleeping well, due to the influence of nightmares several times a night. Thankfully he was able to hide them from Hotch, after the first two or three nights of waking up screaming, now he could keep nearly silent. His eyes were straining to read the text on the pages before him. He knew he shouldn't be here, it was too soon, but he needed to be working, he needed to feel even the tiniest bit normal. He glanced over at Rossi who was studiously taking notes as he read through the information again. He stopped himself from nodding off and shook his head to clear it.

"You know, if you wanted to take a nap on the couch I'd wake you up when the team gets back," Rossi commented, not looking up. Reid startled and then glared at the senior agent. No way was he going to rest while women out there were in danger. Rossi realized that he wasn't going to get a chance to talk to the Unit Chief before he brought the subject up with the fox.

"Look, kiddo." He finally made eye contact, knowing it would make Reid understand that he was serious. "I know that you want to work, it makes you feel like nothing's changed, but you can't do that to yourself. You were gone for a year and three months. Four hundred and seventy-six days. Yes, I did the math." Reid blinked. "That kind of thing doesn't just go away, as much as you want to forget it. As much as you want to pretend it didn't happen, the truth is that it did. You haven't told anyone the details yet, my bet is you only gave Hotch a partial summary of your time with Hatfield, am I right?" The orange-furred mammal looked away sheepishly. "Reid, you can't push yourself too hard to recover. This job is already hard enough, we've lost a lot of good people because of what we do and forcing it before you're ready is a recipe for disaster. I know you know that. Ignoring the issue won't make it disappear. We always say that to trauma victims." Reid glared at him again, a clear message on his face. "You're a victim, Spencer. We all hate to admit it, but you are. Now, are you going to deal with it, or are you going to let it ruin you?" The fox slumped. Rossi consistently seemed to be able to make someone admit defeat. He gazed sympathetically at the genius, and gently asked, "Nightmares?"

Reid shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut before nodding slowly. Rossi's eyes softened.

"Come here." The fox tentatively stepped forward. He drew back when Rossi attempted to touch his fur, but another door slamming had him leaping forward into the senior agent's arms, shaking like a leaf. The older man held the trembling fox close, making soothing noises and stroking the fox's head. He didn't even mind that he was getting fur all over his suit.

When Reid had relaxed, Rossi picked up his phone and sent a quick text to their Unit Chief. 'Reid and I going to hotel. We need to talk.'

The response was almost immediate. 'Something wrong?'

'Later.' He shifted the fox into a more comfortable position while he gathered up their things and left a note for JJ when she got back. Minutes later, he was carrying a tense fox and several files out to the car in the parking lot and driving away.

******

While Reid was sleeping on the bed, Rossi sat at the desk in his hotel room, going over the files and waiting for an update from the rest of the team. He also kept a close eye on the fox, watching for any signs of a nightmare or other problem. He only had to wake the poor animal up once and calm him down. Finally, his phone rang. It was Garcia, hopefully with some good news. Any news at all would be fine, really.

The tech had connected the entire team to the call, and Hotch let them know that he and Chung were headed back from the crime scene. Lewis was likewise returning from the morgue, she would pick up JJ from the station before they all gathered at the hotel. Garcia sounded remarkably excited and proud of herself when everyone had answered.

"You cannot deny that Miss Penelope Garcia is a genius, my nearly as brilliant crime fighters. I have everything that you could possibly want to know on your victims, and my magic powers managed to unearth the only connection between them. I give you, LoveDoves dot com. Wow, that's super corny. Their logo is cute, though. Anyway, it's an online dating site that all three of our ladies were members of. I'm looking through the employees now, and trying to get a list of all the handsome gentlemen with profiles on the site."

"Good work, Garcia," Hotch complimented. "Send what you have so far to our tablets."

"Will do, boss man. I'm happy to please," Garcia quipped back. "Is Reid there?"

"He's asleep right now," Rossi answered.

"Awwww. You are sending me a picture, right? If you don't I will write nothing but bad reviews on all your books and wreak havoc on your bank accounts, David Rossi."

"Consider it sent, kitten. You can leave my online life alone." Rossi looked horrified though no one else could see it. He was trapped between a fox who would not appreciate him snapping a candid shot, and a hacker with extraordinary computer powers. He hoped that Reid wouldn't wake up for a while.

"I shall return when I have more dirty details. Stay safe, my lovelies." Everyone was left smiling when Garcia terminated the call. It had been a while since any of them had heard her cheery phone conversations. A year, three months, and 26 days to be exact. It was a relief after so long of short, monotone dialogue.

******

Thankfully, Reid did not wake until Rossi had successfully taken and sent the picture requested by Garcia. JJ and Lewis arrived soon after, followed closely by Hotch and Chung. The group gathered in Rossi's room and talked about the case for a few hours before Reid started to get antsy and the rest of the team grew hungry. It was nearly time for lunch, so Lewis and Reid volunteered to go get some food. Orders were taken for the small deli down the street and the two doctors headed that way.

Halfway to the shop, Reid suddenly froze in the middle of the sidewalk. Lewis didn't notice at first, but when he gave a small bark, she turned around. His head swiveled to the side and his ears perked, he appeared to be listening to something that she couldn't hear. Suddenly, the fox took off, dashing down an alley and disappearing from sight.

"Reid!" Lewis shouted after him, racing to catch up. She rounded the corner and saw the tip of a bushy white tail in the distance. She chased Reid, cursing under her breath and trying not to lose him, a very difficult task as he was on four legs and she on two. She was barely able to keep up, but finally she heard what the orange-furred mammal must have picked up. A woman's scream.

The scream was echoing through an open door to her right, along with a man's angry yells. Lewis didn't hesitate to pull out her phone and speed dial Hotch to give him the address and tell him to call the LEOs. Then she slid her Glock from its holster, took a deep breath, and stepped through the door.

******

The last thing the Unsub was expecting was to be attacked by a fox. It was even more unexpected for him to learn that said fox was with the FBI. The canine had come rushing in, how it opened the door, he would never know, but it did and in a blur of orange, it had attached itself to his wrist with its teeth. He had been holding his pistol with that hand and the pain of the sharp fangs digging into his flesh had him dropping the gun and bellowing a few choice words. His fiancée pulled away from his grasp and backed up and the fox let go. Suddenly, another woman entered his house with a raised gun. The Unsub growled and bent down to reach his gun. His attempts were thwarted once again by the fox who bit his leg through his pants. He kicked out at the animal, but it dodged and attacked again.

While Reid was distracting the Unsub, Lewis went straight to the victim.

"Get behind me. I'm with the FBI, backup is on the way. You're going to be okay," She assured the terrified woman. She then targeted the Unsub and shouted at him. "FBI! Freeze and put your hands in the air!" The man snarled but complied as Reid was standing firmly over the gun on the floor and looking rather fierce with his claws extended. Lewis came forward and handcuffed the Unsub, which happened to be right when their astonished backup arrived.

******

Rossi and Hotch had their serious conversation on the flight home. Reid knew they were talking about him, but for once he didn't mind. He was having too much fun helping JJ win at poker. Chung leaned over after the blonde collected the pot for the fourth time and whispered something in the fox's ear that had him smile and wag his tail. Somehow, the sole sentence broke the icy barrier between the two, Reid abandoned JJ to fend for herself and joined forces with Chung instead, making him smirk at the others. Before then, the canine was always glaring heatedly at the other agent and Chung likewise avoided the animal. No one knew exactly what Chung had said to get Reid to trust him. Though they had some, admittedly unrealistic, theories, mostly they were just glad that the pair was finally able to get along.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11:

The day after they got home from Ulysses was their paperwork day and everyone was filling out their reports on the last case, even Reid. The genius fox had to use a computer and it took him a much longer time than it normally would have. The team was still continuing their tradition of working together in the round table room.

Their Unsub was Tory Burks, a 26-year-old accountant who had been using the dating site to find women who he believed to be his fiancée and then strangling them to death when his delusional fantasy didn't play out. It was an easy open-and-closed case for the profilers, made even shorter because of the premature catching of the Unsub in the act by Reid and Lewis' quick action.

******

Reid went around the table, taking a break from his report and wandering around trying to beg his friends to let him have their coffee. Unfortunately for the fox, they had already decided that they didn't need a hyper fox on their hands and were steadfastly refusing. Garcia wanted to but every time she tried to give in to the pleading animal, someone else would glare at her.

"Sorry, Reid, I don't think coffee is good for foxes," Chung joked. Reid glared at him and laid his ears flat. "Go on, I have paperwork to do." The fox stalked off angrily, but as soon as Chung refocused on his reports, the orange-furred creature spun back around. Reid slowly crept forward on silent paws until he was out of the agent's line-of-sight. The sly grin on the fox's face was disconcerting to anyone who might have seen it. Lewis noticed and bit her lip to contain her telling smile.

Without warning, Reid opened his jaw and let out a scream. Chung jumped out of his chair with a startled yelp, hand reaching for his holster reflexively. In a flash, Reid was up on the desk with his slender muzzle in the mug and lapping at the dark, caffeinated liquid. Lewis could no longer contain her laughter and Chung just stared stunned at the mischievous animal, who took a pause from his drink to give the agent a smug look. Chung finally shut his gaping mouth and shook his head disbelievingly.

Reid's scream had been loud enough that it drew the attention of everyone in the bullpen who watched the drama with amusement, though the more serious agents looked mildly annoyed. Hotch was wearing a miniature smile when he came back in from getting his own steaming, brown beverage. Rossi shook his head and Garcia started laughing outright. Chung sighed and sat back down, trying to hide his own small grin.

"Give me a heart attack, why don't ya." He muttered. Reid huffed in response and licked the last drops of coffee from the corners of his mouth.

******

_3 months later…_

Rossi was grinning at Lewis' joke as he flipped another burger patty on his grill. The entire team was enjoying a summer party in Rossi's backyard. Lewis was aiding Rossi in his cheeseburger endeavor, Hotch was bouncing Michael on his knee while JJ watched, Will and Garcia appeared to be debating Star Trek vs. Star Wars, and Reid was playing with Jack and Henry on the grass.

Both children had constantly asked where Uncle Spence was while he was still missing, but they didn't know the truth about the fox they were now throwing a ball, yet. Reid didn't seem to mind that he was chasing after a tennis ball, the only thing that mattered was that he was making Jack and Henry laugh as he pranced around them. Morgan was unable to come as he had taken Savannah and their son on vacation to Chicago.

The doorbell rang and Rossi went to get the door, leaving Lewis as master of the grill. Chung and his family had arrived. His daughter Amelia went straight over to Jack and Henry and they welcomed her with open arms. Chung's husband, Dustin, hadn't met the team yet, and so a lot of introductions took place. Soon, everyone was seated around Rossi's massive table and were laughing and wholeheartedly enjoying their food.

"Hey, Reid!" The fox looked up at Will curiously. "Star Trek or Star Wars? Garcia's a Trekkie, I think there are too many inaccuracies."

Reid snorted in amusement and looked pointedly at Garcia.

"Actually, there aren't that many outright errors in Star Trek, just certain implausibilities," Hotch quoted. The fox blinked at him in surprise and he smiled. "Morgan thought it was funny." Reid huffed in a manner the rest had come to interpret as laughter.

Suddenly, the tone of a ringing cellphone interrupted the conversation. Hotch apologized and left the table to answer it. When he came back minutes later his face was grim, but he said nothing and forced his grin back on. No one mentioned it, though everyone wondered.

******

Hours later, the party had moved inside and the four kids were nearly asleep. Dustin and Will, sensing that the BAU team would need to talk, both took their respective children home, Will volunteering to take Jack as well. They gathered in the large, neatly decorated living room, Reid nestling on the couch between Hotch and JJ. The TV was turned on and a movie begun to play, but no one payed attention to the screen.

"Hatfield didn't check in with his probation officer this morning. They're still trying to find him." Hotch reluctantly began. The reaction was immediate, the cheerful air that had been present was sucked out of the room in a split second. It was replaced by a mix of anger and helplessness, all attention was turned to Reid who hid behind JJ's arm. "That wasn't the reason I thought we should talk, though, at least, not now." The Unit Chief continued. "Reid?" The fox peeked out. "I'm not sure exactly how to say this, but I know that you have always been a private person, but we know your Ātmā. It's only fair if you know ours."

"We're basically a family already, right? Makes sense to me. The only thing that doesn't is why we never did this sooner.," Garcia said. Everyone smiled at her sincerity, it was very much their tech goddess' outlook on life. "So, who starts?" Reid stared at his friends, overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness.

Chung's quiet voice surprised them all. "Goose. Specifically, a Brent Goose." Then he grinned, "That actually felt really good."

"Rabbit." JJ was quick to be next. "The lop-eared kind." It wasn't hard to imagine JJ as a cute bunny.

"Iguana," Rossi continued, somewhat sheepishly.

"That's so you, Dave." Lewis laughed. "I'm an African Grey Parrot. Incredible creatures really. Did you know that they're one of the most intelligent bird species on the planet and can understand and speak over 1,000 human words?"

"Now you sound like Boy Wonder." The fox whined and looked mildly offended at Garcia. "It's not a bad thing!" She quickly amended. Reid raised an eyebrow. "Alright fine, fine. I think I have you all beat, sorry. River otters have the cutest little faces ever."

Then it was Hotch's turn. He froze for a second, at first it had seemed easy to share, he remembered when he told Haley it just popped out, but now the words were stuck in his throat. He gazed around at the faces of his team and their content expressions filled him with a sense of belonging. "Panther." He stated simply, the smile coming naturally to his face as the animal in his chest settled. This was what it felt like to be a family, to have a bond deeper than blood forged by hardship, heartbreak, and persistence.

He felt something nudge his elbow and glanced down at the fox. Reid's brush wagged slightly and Hotch lifted a hand to scratch his large, black ears.

"Fall asleep there, Aaron?" Rossi joked. Hotch looked up to see five sets of eyes fixed on him. He blinked in surprise, he must have been stuck in his thoughts for quite some time. "Something on your mind?"

"We really are a family, aren't we?"

******

Reid had fallen asleep on Rossi's couch while the human team members chatted. As a fox, he never slept for more than two hours, it seemed, but he made up for it by taking a lot of naps. He woke up later, disoriented and wondering where everyone else was. Rossi was seated next to him on the couch, reading a thick novel and sipping water.

"We didn't want to disturb you, so I told Hotch to let you sleep and you could come with me to work. Mudgie's still locked in the guest room upstairs and he should be fine staying there for a night. You're welcome to stay here or I could probably find another bed for you." Rossi answered the fox's unasked question. Reid nodded to show he understood, yawned and stretched before settling back down on the still warm fabric of the sofa. Truth be told, he was relieved that he wouldn't be with Jack. He would never forgive himself for putting Hotch's son in danger if Hatfield decided to try and get him back.

"Spencer?" The fox glanced up, curious at the use of his first name. "You know that conversation we had in the Kansas station? I couldn't help but notice something and I'm not sure that anyone else has. If they have, I don't think that they've said anything, but I will. What happened to your paw?" Reid pretended not to know what he was talking about and glanced down at his left foot. "The other one, Spencer." Reid tucked it under himself hiding the ring of faint but thick scars that were barely noticeable under his fur. He started to tremble, reliving how he had received them. Rossi set his book aside and cupped Reid's cheeks with his hands, forcing the fox to meet his eyes. "It's okay if you don't tell me right now, I just want you to tell someone. Aaron, JJ, me, even Lewis or Chung if you want to. Promise me you'll do that?" The fox dipped his head in reluctant agreement. Rossi let go of his face and ruffled his fur gently. "Alright, I'm exhausted, kiddo, so I'm going to go to bed. You need anything?" Reid shook his head no. The older man stood up, stretched, and groaned before giving the animal one last pat and heading upstairs.

Reid curled up tight on the couch, trying to ward off unwanted memories, but failing miserably.

******

_One year, five days before…_

The fox ran through the forest, a blur of orange dodging behind trees and weaving around the underbrush. His paws ached but he wouldn't stop, couldn't stop, because that would mean he had to go back. He stumbled a little as he skidded to avoid a thorn bush, but quickly regained his balance and continued. Soon, he was fighting for breath and his muscles were burning. It had been a long time since he had exerted this much energy. He allowed himself a pause, judging that he had traveled a far enough distance. A quick scan of the area for any sign that he had been followed revealed no such thing. He sucked in a few deep lungfuls of oxygen. Once he was no longer panting as heavily, the animal began to trot at a more relaxed pace. The patches of sky that could be seen through the canopy were gradually becoming darker, indicating the falling night.

He wandered a bit further into the woods, admiring the world surrounding him that he hadn't seen in far too long and was now a completely different experience than when he had been human, before attempting to find a place to hide. He finally discovered a small burrow formed by an exposed tangle of tree roots and squeezed his way underneath. He curled up with a happy sigh, he was free.

Reid woke up a few hours before dawn broke, but stayed in his temporary den until the sunlight dappled the leaf corpses on the ground. He stretched and yawned before padding out and looking around. Choosing a direction away from where he had arrived, he started walking, occasionally startling at the noise of a squirrel overhead or sudden birdsong, but eventually growing used to them and they faded and blurred into the background music of the forest.

Suddenly, a clanging snap disturbed the peace, followed by the pained scream of the fox. Reid bit off the sound immediately, but a few whimpers still escaped him as he pulled at his paw. His panic was making it difficult to process, so far the only thing he was able to realize was that he couldn't move his right foot, and every try sent a new wave of agony up his leg on top of an already unbearable, throbbing pain.

When the shock dissipated, he was finally able to comprehend his situation. He had unwittingly stepped into an old bear trap which had sprung closed on his leg and was slicing into the skin and flesh. Blood seeped from the wounds and trickled down to his paw. All of his hopes of getting back to the team were crashing down around him, accompanied by the physical pain from the monstrosity holding him captive. He gave another tug at his paw but it was futile and only served to cause him more injury.

He closed his eyes and, ignoring every instinct in his body that begged him not to, he screamed, letting the desperate sound echo for miles of wilderness. He did it again and again, letting everyone and everything within range know that he was there, including Hatfield and Jamie. Dying here alone was not an option, even if it meant going back into hell.

The younger scientist found him lying miserably on the ground about a half hour later. He could have cried when the man slipped a leash and a muzzle on him before prying open the trap, but was honestly too exhausted to even move. Jamie carefully wrapped his injury and picked the fox up. Reid half-heartedly squirmed, wishing he could still get away, but resigned to his fate.

They reached the lab within two hours, and Jamie cleaned and bandaged the horrid wounds before returning the orange-furred animal to his cage.

The scars healed, but Reid never forgot how close he had been to home.

******

_Present day…_

It was a Monday the day after their party, meaning the team was forced to go into work in the morning. Luckily no cases came in that required them to travel, but there were plenty of consults and other paperwork that had piled up over the weekend. Reid spent much of the day with Garcia in her lair, helping her on the computer.

The day went by slowly and without any incident other than when the ever clumsy Reid knocked over Rossi's outbox stack and a half hour had to be spent to reorganize the papers and files into their proper order. The senior agent grumbled irritably the rest of the day, but snapped less when he read the paper that Reid gave him detailing his flashback the night before. Human and fox eyes met in a silent communication of pride and sorrow.

Finally, five o'clock came around and the profilers packed up to head home. Reid hid behind Chung as they left, trying to avoid Garcia who had knitted him a rather gaudy sweater and was attempting to force him into it. Eventually, Chung betrayed the fox, holding him still while Garcia wrestled the sweater on. It was a bright pink and blue thing that clashed with his flame-red fur and he looked desperately up at the others, pleading for help. No one dared to interfere with a determined Garcia, though, and so Reid was left to traipse through the building, evidently uncomfortable.

The rest of the team were going to a bar, but Hotch needed to pick up Jack from a friend's house and Reid elected to go with him so that he could get away from the over-affectionate hacker for a while. Once in the car, the fox tried to wriggle his way out of the hideous yarn contraption, but only managed to get himself stuck in one of the sleeves. Hotch spent a good five minutes watching him struggle unsuccessful and trying to not burst out laughing before finally pulling over to take pity on the canine. Reid shoved the thing as far away from himself as possible.

They reached their destination, Hotch parking in front of a neatly manicured lawn that sloped up to a small, but cozy looking house. He cracked the windows so that Reid could stay in the car, then he stepped out of the car and went to get Jack.

Reid watched the door open and the father accept the invitation to come inside, so the fox settled down in his seat. He sniffed at the fresh air that was blowing in through the open window, enjoying the cool breeze and the scents it brought with it. He wrinkled his nose as the sour tang of cigarette smoke wafted in. He growled and sat up so that he could see through the glass, immediately locking eyes with a man staring at him from across the street who was leaning casually against a grey truck. He froze, the man was carrying a rifle and brought his cigarette to his lips to take a puff. Reid went into panic mode when the man breathed out the smoke and started to walk towards Hotch's car. The fox scrambled over the gear shift to get to the driver's seat and used his claws and teeth to unlatch the door and jump out. His heart was somewhere in his throat, preventing him from making any noise, and the organ felt like it was pounding at a physically impossible million beats per minute.

He raced across the lawn and had barely gone three feet before a sharp sting on his shoulder had him yelping out loud. He tried to twist away, but it was only a couple of seconds before the tranquilizer began to take effect. The world shifted and blurred, leaving him tripping over his own feet as his sense of balance was lost. He collapsed on the ground, struggling to keep his eyes open and was able to see a pair of black combat boots stomp to a halt beside him before he sank into unconsciousness.

******

"Daddy!" Jack was staring through the window and Hotch made his way over to see why he was so distressed. His heart stopped as he saw an unfamiliar man lifting up a limp orange form and carrying it away, getting into a dark grey pickup and driving off. Hotch was immediately racing out the door and telling his son to stay in the house, the family of Jack's friends looked bewildered, but at that moment, Hotch couldn't care less. He was out the door and clambering into his own car in under thirty seconds, and didn't bother to buckle his seat belt. He snatched up his phone and started the vehicle simultaneously and speed dialed Rossi. The other man's greeting was cut off by Hotch's deceivingly calm voice.

"Dave, someone took Reid." He was tailing the truck now, but it was getting further and further away. Cars honked at him as he tried to get through the traffic at a speed far above regulation. An SUV pulled out in front of him and he had to slam on the brakes to avoid a crash. He pounded the steering wheel and his horn blasted.

"Where are you?" Rossi got straight to the important questions, skipping the typical frantic reaction. Hotch told him as he watched the pickup turn left at a light. When he got to the same intersection, the traffic light was red. He cursed, wishing he had sirens in his personal vehicle. The truck disappeared into the city as it rounded another corner.

"I lost him. He's gone." He told Rossi quietly. The senior agent didn't reply, but what wasn't said was just as telling. They had once again lost their young genius.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12:

"Every man has a wild beast within him." ― Frederick the Great

Reid struggled against his bonds, still feeling woozy from the effects of the tranquilizer. He had to get out of here. He whimpered as he had to admit defeat to his own fatigue and the tight leather straps encircling his legs and snout. He felt the truck grind to a halt and power off and tried to rouse himself, fighting against the lingering drowsiness. He heard a car door open and shut, and then boots crunching gravel. A second pair of footsteps joined them, headed in his direction.

Along with the sounds of movement, a familiar voice reached his ears. "You got him?" Hatfield. Reid forced himself to stay calm, but his heart nevertheless raced and he couldn't slow his breathing.

"Sure did. Still not sure why the hell yer intr'sted in a fox, but I guess it ain't really my business anyway. I just want the money and them I'm outta yer hair." There were some unidentifiable noises.

"Is that acceptable?" A shudder rippled down his spine, each word that Hatfield spoke threatening to send him closer to a panic attack. He missed the unknown man's answer as he had to focus and shut everything out in order to regain control of himself. Someone lifted the blanket that was draped over his cage and then Hatfield was peering down at him. The doctor grinned before he reached out and recovered the crate, leaving Reid in the dark again. Reid felt the cage being lifted, causing the floor to shift underneath him, a very strange and nauseating experience.

The fox heard the rumble of the truck's engine and then the scraping of gravel as the tires rotated and the vehicle sped away. He was left alone and helpless with the delusional doctor.

Hatfield walked for a distance, obviously going inside a building judging by the change in the sound of his bootsteps, from a crunching of rock to a tap of tile. The cage was deposited on a smooth, flat surface and the doctor whipped off the blanket, making Reid squeeze his eyes shut against the blinding glare of the artificial light.

The cage door was unlocked and opened, allowing the fox to be roughly pulled out. Reid was set on a wooden table next to his crate before Hatfield fastened a collar around his neck and attached it with a leash to some kind of metal bar. The man puttered around the room, humming to himself, and the canine attempted to keep track of Hatfield, a task which proved more difficult than it would appear because of his restricted movement. They seemed to be in a garage of sorts, or a utility shed. Reid hoped that wherever they were, it would be easy for the team to find.

Hatfield came back over to the table carrying an armful of equipment he had collected. He let the bundle clatter onto the hard surface, startling the anxious animal. Clint removed the band keeping Reid's mouth closed and the fox gratefully stretched his jaw and whined a little. The doctor laughed lightly.

"Sorry, Spencer." Reid nearly cried in frustration when Hatfield replaced the leather strap with a more functional wire muzzle. Only then did he cut the other straps on the fox's legs, allowing him more freedom, but insuring that he couldn't pull off the cage on his snout. The canine moved his limbs experimentally and settled into a more comfortable position, but remained lying down, his body feeling heavy with lethargy.

He didn't even fight when Hatfield drew blood. There wasn't a point in fighting, doing so would just mean he got hurt more. Don't waste energy on something useless. He had learned that lesson a long time ago. Hatfield continued to examine the fox and Reid complied readily. Finally, Clint seemed to be done with his tests because he collected his materials and left the orange-furred animal curled miserably on the table.

Reid tried halfheartedly to remove the collar or muzzle, but as he expected, he was unable to budge either. He whimpered. Where was the team?

******

The team was back in the Quantico briefing room at, furiously working. Chung was pacing back and forth in front of the table where a blank-faced Hotch and Rossi, a stony JJ, a teary-eyed Garcia, and an angry Lewis were sitting. The office was not quiet, however, in fact, there was a din as the profilers voiced thoughts and argued. The six agents were united in their common goal, finding Reid.

"Lewis."

"Yeah, Hotch?" The doctor looked up from the papers in front of her.

"I want you to look through anyone besides Dr. Hatfield that would want to kidnap Reid. We can't rule out that possibility."

"Hotch, no one else would know that Reid is a fox right now. Hatfield is the only one." JJ protested. Lewis just nodded though and left to do her assigned task.

"Reid's only been gone for two hours and once we can be sure that it is Hatfield, we will focus all of our attention on him, but for now we can't take that risk," Hotch replied sympathetically. The blonde frowned, but conceded to the Unit Chief's logic. "Garcia, track Hatfield's accounts, try to pinpoint his movement, I want to know everything about him. Get his prison records, too. JJ, call his probation officer, find out what exactly they know, then come help with the profile." The two women agreed and rushed to start working.

"Jamie Enright wasn't the dominant personality," Rossi stated bluntly.

"Yeah? I thought we knew that already?" Chung raised his eyebrow.

"He never was, that's the point. Hatfield was always the one in control and we couldn't prove it, but we can now. Enright is dead, but Hatfield still took Reid. So, it's Hatfield's idea, not Enright's. Why is Reid so important to him? Discovering that motive is going to lead us straight to him," Hotch explained for the senior agent.

"We know that he lied when he gave his confession so that he could implicate Enright, but what if it wasn't all false?" Rossi noted.

"How so?"

"His daughter, when he was talking about Julia was when he seemed the sincerest." Chung spoke up. "We're going to need the transcripts from that interrogation."

"Julia's death was definitely his stressor. His Ātmā is grieving and that means it probably isn't able to guide him, thereby leading to his lack of morals. The trigger was when he was fired from his job at the university. Meeting Enright likely didn't help either, from Reid's descriptions he sounded like a sociopath, with two practically soulless people together, it was inevitable that people were going to get hurt."

"He could be back in Minnesota, this is his end game, he knows we're after him and that he isn't going to be able to stay hidden forever. I think we should be looking at locations important to him, if he were to do something to Reid, it would be in a place that he feels connected to, his final 'experiment'." Uncharacteristic for him, Rossi spat out the last word, pure venom in his voice.

"Hatfield's probation officer said that they still haven't found him and he thinks that he's crossed state lines. He also told me that Hatfield had been demonstrating good behavior before then, always checked in on time, no violations at all, really." JJ marched in, shutting her phone with a snap, her golden hair swinging against her back in its ponytail.

"He was waiting." Rossi remarked drily, leaning back in his seat and rubbing at his eyes. "Biding his time until they weren't paying as close attention and he had gathered the funds he needed so that he could hire someone to kidnap Reid."

"So what now?" Chung asked, his worry clear.

"Now we build a profile, find Reid, and make sure that Hatfield goes away for good."

******

Reid raised his head as Hatfield entered and just a few seconds of the man being in the room put him on edge. Something was very wrong. Hatfield was pacing back and forth, shoes slapping heavily on the floor, and muttering to himself. The fox watched him cautiously and when the doctor suddenly snatched up a scalpel and stalked over to the table he flinched backward. He strained against the leash as he attempted to pull as far away from the blade as possible. Turmoil was swirling through Hatfield, Reid could sense it. He crouched into a submissive posture and whined loudly, causing the doctor to pause, an unreadable expression on his face. A tense minute passed, fox and man staring at each other, one terrified, one agitated.

Finally, Hatfield sighed and set down the scalpel. Reid relaxed slightly.

"What am I doing?" The fox startled and looked up at him. Clint shook his head and left without another word. Reid waited until the door closed before he lay down, resting his chin on his paws, trying to calm his racing heart. The thing scaring him the most was that he had no idea what Hatfield was thinking, experience had taught him that unpredictability was dangerous, often deadly. Lying down and submitting was not going to keep him alive this time.

******

Rossi gulped back the last dregs of his cheap, office coffee with a grimace and set the mug aside, thinking he might go join Chung in the break room for some more of the caffeinated sludge. Hotch sighed and rubbed at his eyes for the third time in the past two hours. They had gone over the casefile so many times that every word was engrained in their brains. It hadn't been futile work, though, but most of the information they had was not helping them to actually find their missing colleague, there were far too many equally likely possibilities. They needed a new lead, and soon.

"Sir! I've got something!" Garcia's excited voice carried as she hurried in to where the team was working. Hotch indicated that she should continue. "So, four hours after Hatfield met with his probation officer for the last time, he withdrew all the money from all of his accounts, but not before he sent three different electronic transfers of $10,000 to the same bank account. I tried to trace the money, but it's being frustratingly stubborn and I haven't quite got it yet.

"But that wasn't what I thought was extremely important, Hatfield was spotted twenty minutes ago buying items from a pharmacy, they even have security footage. He's still in Rochester."

Hope lit up everyone's faces.

"Wheels up in twenty, Garcia, you're coming with us this time. By the time we reach Rochester, I want us to have a possible location for where Hatfield is keeping Reid."

While Hotch had allotted twenty minutes to ready for the plane, each team member was ready to go within ten, but they had to endure an anxiety inducing wait as the jet was fueled. Finally, the pilot was given the okay to takeoff and they were on their way.

******

Reid's stomach grumbled loudly again, making him shift uncomfortably to try and settle it. Hatfield had been gone for hours, leaving Reid alone on the hard wood surface of the table where he was forced to remain by the leash. He was distracted from his empty stomach when he heard the chatter of voices. His ears perked up, neither of the conversationalists was Hatfield, in fact, both murmurs were distinctly female. He uncurled himself and sat up. The location that Hatfield was holding him in was a public building. It had to be, why else would there be anyone else there?

The sounds began to fade, making Reid shake his head to force himself out of his mind. He opened his mouth as wide as he could in the muzzle and let out an emphatic yip. He heard the two women pause, either that or they had moved out of his hearing range, and made the noise again. He kept barking, keeping track of the sound of footsteps and confused voices getting closer, until the door handle jiggled. It was locked and so the fox whined frustratedly. Freedom was within his grasp but continued to tantalize him cruelly.

"Ginny, go get the Matt, I think he has the key." The canine heard clearly but softly through the solid door, the sound of heels clicking echoed faintly as one of the women ran off to find the custodian.

Reid couldn't stay still as he waited for the woman to return with the key. He was vibrating with anticipation and he kept shifting on his paws, kneading the table beneath him. It was taking all of his willpower to stay seated back on his haunches and keep himself relatively quiet, though he failed to stop the small hopeful whimpers that escaped him.

After what seemed like hours, the woman returned. Reid heard the welcome sounds of a key being inserted into the lock and twisting until it came unlatched with a loud click. The knob turned, allowing the door to be pushed open, revealing his two saviors. It was impossible for Reid to remain down any longer, he leapt to his feet and let out a few small yips. His tail was sweeping back and forth wildly as he strained against the leash.

"What the hell?" One of the women exclaimed, her confusion evident. Judging by her voice, she was the one who had gone to get the key. She had vibrant ginger hair tied up in a bun. The other woman was a brunette. They were both wearing nurse's scrubs. Was he in a hospital? At that moment it didn't seem to matter much, he was getting out of here!

"Do you think he's feral?" Reid shook his head in refutation. Both of the nurses stared at him in astonishment. The fox just looked up at them pleadingly. The first woman made to move forward. "Careful!" The second warned her, but the redhead ignored the caution and reached out, her slender fingers brushing Reid's fur as she slipped off the muzzle. The animal bowed his head to make it easier for her and wagged his tail gratefully.

"See Sarah, he's friendly." Suddenly the fox sensed a presence standing in the doorway and his head shot up, startling both of the women.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Hatfield growled angrily. Reid cringed backward, hunkering down and flattening his ears in fright. Hatfield was beyond infuriated, the two women began to realize that they were in trouble and exchanged a look. The doctor shut the door securely behind himself and pulled his pistol from his waistband. He aimed the barrel at the women, pure rage on his features. The nurses had retreated until they were pressed against the opposite wall, eyes wide.

Knowing that he had to do something, Reid yelped at Clint, drawing the doctor's attention. He paused, gazing at the terrified fox with an unreadable expression on his face. He lowered the gun slightly, but then raised it again and squeezed the trigger. There was a resounding crack followed by piercing scream. Reid slammed his eyes shut, recoiling from the explosive noise. Once the ringing in his ears faded, he could hear someone crying and gasping. He tentatively pried open his eyelids, allowing himself to see the tragic scene before him. The ginger-haired nurse, Ginny, was lying motionless on the ground, a red splotch staining her uniform and growing steadily larger. Sarah was kneeling next to her, trying desperately to stop the bleeding, tears streaming down her cheeks. Hatfield was watching unperturbed, the only outward emotion was a hint of sadness gleaming in his eyes.

The canine was shaking from the brutality he had just witnessed. He flinched when Hatfield finally approached him holding a syringe.

"Oh, Spencer. I'm sorry, but my work needs to be completed. You're a man of science, you know what that's like. I couldn't let anyone interfere." Reid glanced over at the prone woman and back to Hatfield, wanting desperately to ask him why because he truly didn't understand. "When I first started my test on you, I had to infect you with HIV." The fox stared at him horrified. "I know, but it was necessary. Once I had confirmed that you were positive, I could finally conduct my experiment. When I initiated your transformation, I was hoping that it would work and it did! It cured you, Spencer. Your HIV tests came back negative. The entire time you were with me, your tests came back negative. You were the only subject that survived the transformation though. One success isn't enough for me to prove that it could work, so I had to keep studying you, I needed to keep testing, but I think I figured it out. It's probably time for me to do this anyway." Reid was able to follow what Hatfield had said until the last sentence. He didn't have much time to ponder it though because the sound of yelling and chaos outside of the room distracted him briefly. One of his large, black ears perked up in curiosity and his heart swelled when he made sense of the words being shouted.

His team was here.

******

Chung pounded heavily on the door that he knew was a portal to the room where Hatfield and Reid were.

"FBI! Dr. Clint Hatfield open this door, right now or I will be forced to break it down." He commanded harshly, glancing at Hotch who was positioned on the other side of the door with his Glock clasped tightly in his hands. There was no answer from inside. The Unit Chief nodded to him, so he stepped back, braced himself and kicked. The door broke open with a splintering noise and instantly the BAU agents and the accompanying Rochester police officers swarmed in, guns pointed straight at Hatfield.

They had narrowed Hatfield's location down to three possibilities when the call came in reporting gunshots heard at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, four minutes away from where they were stationed at the PD offices. With the sirens on, it only took them two minutes. The hospital was included on the list of buildings they had predicted Hatfield would hole up in. It looked like they had been correct in their assumption.

"Drop the weapons, Hatfield." Lewis demanded. She was cheered to see that their canine friend was unharmed and watching them with undisguised relief. It was considerably less reassuring to see the nurse bleeding out in the corner of the room.

The doctor grit his teeth, refusing to even glance at the intruders and instead gazing intently into the cat-like slits of the fox's eyes. He lowered the gun and syringe, setting them gently on the table. Reid's eyes were glued to the small plastic item. Chung came forward, pulled Hatfield's hands none to gently behind his back and cuffed him, feeling great satisfaction in doing so.

Reid finally glanced up when JJ approached the table as two of the officers led the doctor outside to a squad car. The medics were radioed for, thankfully they were just upstairs.

JJ reached out and unclipped the collar around the fox's neck, releasing him. He wagged his tail in thanks and gently nudged her hand with his nose. Trembling from the exhaustion and the after-effects of his adrenaline rush, he welcomed her embrace.

******

Once again, it was Rossi in charge of Hatfield's interrogation. The doctor was compliant, not a hint of the self-assuredness he had demonstrated only a few months ago. He answered each of the senior agent's questions in a monotone that only betrayed a hint of his remorse.

"The nurse you shot is expected to recover completely." Hatfield dipped his head but remained silent. Rossi leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table between them and steepled his fingers together. "Why did you pull the trigger?"

"She was going to interfere with my work." Their gazes met for the first time since Rossi had entered the room. Rossi mulled over the answer for a minute before speaking again.

"What exactly was 'your work'? Were you going to do something to Spencer?" He was confident that he already knew the answer to his second question, but he had tacked it on for clarification.

"The final stage of the experiment is transforming the Ātmā back into their human body. I was hoping that I would have more time to test on other subjects, but I knew that you would be trying to find me so I was forced to use Spencer. I'd only tried the serum once before, and the subject didn't make it. I made adjustments of course, to fix the issues that presented themselves. Spencer was the first to survive the initial compound, my first ever success. When I was testing the second serum I needed him in order to do research. I didn't want to take the chance with him this time, but it was the only option." The speech was the most that Hatfield had spoken in the past hour. His eyes were lit with a fiery zealotry, contrasting the doctor's still indifferent expression. There was a mixture of intense relief, anger, and hope on Rossi's own face as he stood and left the interrogation room without another word. Hotch and Lewis were waiting for him outside, having been watching the interaction through the one-way mirror.

******

The fox was pacing anxiously across the tabletop, fixated on the evidence bag he was circling. The plastic encased a syringe that was filled with a yellowish liquid. Chung followed the orange-furred canine's circuit with his eyes, trying to hold in the exasperation that the constant movement was causing him. He had stationed himself near the door, arms crossed over his chest, the only outward sign of tension was his fingers tapping a restless beat on his elbow. JJ was sitting in a chair next to Garcia, both of them were watching Reid, their hands clasped together tightly.

Chung sighed in relief when the trio of absent members finally entered, gladly staying in his position, but relaxing now that there were more people to keep an eye on the agitated fox who knew said fox much better than he did. He'd only been on the team for a little over a year and had met Reid only three months prior.

"Spencer?" Rossi called softly, interrupting the musings of the animal. Reid blinked and looked up at the senior agent inquisitively. "What do you want to do?"

Reid refocused his attention on the object at the forefront of everyone's minds. His own brain was racing at lightning speeds, analyzing options and exploring outcomes. As the team waited patiently for the verdict, Reid suddenly realized that he couldn't decide, at least, not right now. The statistics that usually informed and guided him gave very little assistance. His situation was unique, as far as he knew, it would be up to him to choose to take the chance or not.

******

The doctor sat dejectedly on the thin, hard cot of his holding cell. It was over. His heart was heavy with the burden of grief and failure. He took a long, slow, deep breath and exhaled forcefully. Closing his brown eyes briefly gave him courage. Or maybe it was cowardice that he needed in order to do this. At this point, there was hardly a difference. Popping a stitch on his jacket with his fingernail was surprisingly easy, it didn't take long before he had opened the small, concealed pocket. The blue-coated pill taunted him with its promises. He lifted it out gently between his fore finger and thumb and inspected it carefully.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he slipped it onto his tongue and swallowed the capsule dry.

"I'm coming, dear Julia, we'll see each other again very soon. I love you, my child." His lips parted in a smile and he laid back on the uncomfortable bed, shutting his eyelids once more, never to open them again.

******

The commotion outside of their sequestered room drew the team's focus. Hotch frowned and was about to go see what was going on, but at that moment the door opened and a young officer who had gone along on the raid with them poked his head in, his expression grim.

"Dr. Hatfield is dead."

Shock was quick to appear on the faces of the listeners. Reid could have sworn he felt his heart skip a beat. A myriad of emotions swept through him, leaving him confused and lost. Although the man terrified him, he couldn't help but feel implausibly grief-stricken. The weight of fear lifted, but the despair paralyzed him. Pity overwhelmed him for the man who had nearly killed him multiple times.

"—eid?" The fox startled and stared up at Lewis, only after inhaling shakily did he realize he had stopped breathing. "You alright?" Reid blinked and nodded tentatively.

"We think it was suicide, he poisoned himself. We won't know for sure until they can get the body down to the morgue and do an autopsy." The Unit Chief thanked the officer who quickly hurried away, leaving the stunned group behind. Everyone turned to look at the fox.

"What now?" Garcia wondered aloud.

"Reid?" When he was sure that he had the canine's attention, Rossi addressed him. "You don't have to decide right now. Just know that the option is open, and that it's a huge risk." The senior agent gestured to the syringe. "We can head home and you can give it some thought before you make a choice." Reid's tongue darted out and wet his nose, a nervous tic he seemed to have developed.

"I'll tell the chief that we're taking the substance back to our labs for analysis," JJ said, garnering a nod of approval from Hotch.

It didn't take long to arrange their trip home and head out. Through the windows of the jet, the lights of Rochester slowly faded away as clouds obscured their view. A collective sigh of relief was heard.

The entire flight, Reid considered his options thoroughly, but the decision was next to impossible. Either he risked his life and hopefully became human, or he lived for certain and stayed as a fox. By the time the plane touched down on the runway with the usual jolt, doubts continued to plague him, but his mind was set.


	14. Epilogue

Epilogue:

_1 month later…_

Reid didn't even bother to hide his grin as Chung kept them all entertained with another one of his poor attempts at a joke. The team and their families were all gathered around the enormous table on Rossi's backyard deck. Hotch responded with his admittedly much better humor, and Reid was glad to see that the Unit Chief and 'father' of their little group was allowing himself to relax. He had noticed that after his own return, the team spirit was lighter. Hotch smiled, Garcia came up with new nicknames, her new favorite for Reid was foxy genius, which he hated, and creamsicle as a close second, Lewis and Chung were more engaged outside of work, and JJ had this light in her eyes that never really seemed to go away. His family was whole and happy.

He was distracted from his thoughts by his godson, who jumped up and down pleading with him to come play. Reid obliged more than willingly, he always would for Henry. The content genius spent the rest of the hour entertaining the three children until Will called them back over to the table for food.

The mood as they ate was joyful and everyone was laughing. Chung's husband, Dustin, had a moment where one of Rossi's dry comments had him spraying soda from his mouth across the table when he was unable to hold in his boisterous giggle. His face turned beet red when he realized what he had done, he spluttered out flustered apologies as everyone else cracked up around him. When the laughter faded and the small mess had been cleaned up, the conversation turned to talk of the search for Reid's new apartment.

It started to grow dark and so they all helped Rossi with the dishes and leftovers, leaving Garcia and Reid with the kids. By the time they finished, the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon leaving behind only a soft orange glow. The group moved inside and lounged in the living room watching a movie and chatting amicably. Reid was curled up in a chair, half-asleep, observing his friends, no, his family with content. Hotch saw him looking and offered an easy grin which he readily returned, before his lids drooped and he gave in to the blissfulness of slumber, his smile remaining even in his dreams.


End file.
